Thousands flee central Gaza as Israeli troops advance

An estimated 150,000 Palestinians are being forced to flee areas of central Gaza, the UN has said, as Israeli forces advance on refugee camps there.

Witnesses and Hamas's armed wing reported that tanks had reached the eastern outskirts of Bureij camp.

Israel's military recently expanded its ground offensive to target Bureij and nearby Nuseirat and Maghazi camps.

Israeli bombardment also killed dozens of people across Gaza on Thursday, the Hamas-run health ministry said.

The war was triggered by an unprecedented cross-border attack by Hamas gunmen on southern Israel on 7 October, in which 1,200 people were killed - most of them civilians - and about 240 others taken hostage.

More than 21,300 people have been killed in Gaza - mostly children and women - during 11 weeks of fighting, according to the health ministry._Agencies.