Israeli forces have destroyed at least 16 more buildings in Gaza City, displacing thousands, according to Palestinian officials.

Israel has announced plans to seize the city, currently sheltering approximately one million Palestinians, and forcibly displace them to the south in what rights groups call ethnic cleansing.

Humanitarian organisations warn that an Israeli takeover of Gaza City would devastate a population already experiencing widespread malnutrition.

The Gaza Ministry of Health reported on Sunday that two more Palestinians died of malnutrition and starvation in the past 24 hours, as well as four fetuses and three premature babies in Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, bringing the total death toll from these causes to at least 422, including 145 children.

After blocking all food from entering Gaza for 11 weeks earlier this year, Israel has slightly increased aid deliveries to a trickle since late July to alleviate food shortages, though the United Nations emphasises that significantly more assistance is required.

Israel has issued threats to civilians to evacuate Gaza City before expanding its ground operations. While tens of thousands have fled, hundreds of thousands remain.

Israeli forces have been operating in four eastern suburbs for weeks, largely reducing three of them to ruins. They are advancing towards the central and western areas where most displaced people have sought refuge.

Many displaced people are unwilling to leave, citing insufficient space and security in southern areas designated by Israel as humanitarian zones.

“The bombardment intensified everywhere, and we took down the tents, more than 20 families, we do not know where to go,” said Musbah al-Kafarna, who is among the displaced in Gaza City.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 64,871 people and wounded 164,610 since October 2023. Thousands more are believed to be under the rubble.