By Nidal al-Mughrabi
CAIRO (Reuters) -An Israeli airstrike killed seven people late Monday at a café near the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, Palestinian medics said, bringing the death toll from Israeli strikes since Sunday night to at least 37.
In central Gaza, Israeli forces earlier on Monday sent tanks into the Nuseirat camp from the west, sparking panic among residents and displaced families as advancing tanks opened fire.
Twenty people were killed by air and ground strikes in Nuseirat, one of the Gaza Strip's eight historic refugee sites, overnight and into Monday, including some in a tent encampment, health officials at Al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat said.
Resident Zaik Mohammad said the tank incursion caught residents by surprise.
"Some people couldn't leave and remained trapped inside their homes, appealing to be allowed out, while others rushed out with whatever they could carry as they fled," Mohammad, 25, who lives one kilometre (half mile) away from the targeted area, told Reuters via a chat app.
There was no Israeli comment on Monday's violence.
With the war in Gaza now in its 14th month, Israel is focusing its operations in the north and centre of the enclave in what it says is a campaign to stop Hamas militants from waging attacks and regrouping.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian residents have been told to evacuate the areas, fueling fears that they may never be allowed to return.
The already slim chances of a ceasefire receded further at the weekend when mediator Qatar said it was suspending its efforts until both Israel and Palestinian group Hamas showed greater willingness to reach an agreement.
Israeli airstrikes also killed people in Gaza City and in the northern Gaza town of Beit Lahiya, where Israeli forces have operated since Oct. 5, medics said.
At Kamal Adwan Hospital near Beit Lahiya, medics said Israeli fire from a drone wounded three medical workers in the facility.
The Israeli military said it killed a senior commander of the Islamic Jihad group, an ally of Hamas, Mohammad Abu Skhail, in a strike on Saturday at a command center inside a compound that previously served as a school in Gaza City. Palestinian medics said the attack killed six people.
HOSPITAL SIEGE
Israeli forces have besieged the three hospitals in and around Jabalia in northern Gaza for several weeks, and hospital officials have refused orders to evacuate the facilities or leave their patients unattended despite the lack of food, medical supplies and fuel.
The Israeli military accuses Hamas of exploiting Gaza's civilian population for military purposes, a charge the militant group denies.
The Israeli army sent tanks into Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and Jabalia camp in northern Gaza over a month ago. It said it had killed hundreds of militants in Jabalia and around it since the raids began.
The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said their fighters carried out ambushes, mortar fire and anti-tank rocket attacks, claiming to have killed many Israeli soldiers in recent weeks.
On Monday, the Israeli military said it had expanded a humanitarian zone in the enclave. It also said it would allow more tents, shelter materials, food, water and medical supplies to enter.
Its forces "will continue to work to achieve the war's objectives, including dismantling Hamas and returning all the abductees," it said, referring to Israeli hostages.
Palestinian and United Nations officials say there are no safe areas in the enclave, home to more than 2.1 million people and now largely in ruins.
The war erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas gunmen attacked Israeli communities, killing around 1,200 people and taking 253 hostage, by Israeli tallies. Israel's military campaign has leveled much of Gaza and killed around 43,500 Palestinians, Gaza health officials say.
(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Sharon Singleton and Cynthia Osterman)