Tel Aviv said its military entered first stages of a planned assault that includes calling up 60,000 reservists

Israel launched strikes on Gaza City overnight as it moved forward with a new offensive in the Palestinian enclave despite international condemnation and mounting domestic protests.

Explosions rocked neighbourhoods in the city on Thursday, after Israel said its military had entered the first stages of a planned assault that includes calling up 60,000 reservists. The operation has sent civilians fleeing once again, intensifying fears about the starvation crisis unfolding in the territory.

Israel also carried out strikes on Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, and Deir al-Balah in the centre of the territory on Thursday. Video from Deir al-Balah showed people running away from a large plume of smoke.

The expanded campaign also throws into question ceasefire talks, after Hamas said it had accepted a new proposal. Israel's defiance of global pressure has led to growing tensions with its allies, and it enters the Gaza City campaign while clashing publicly with major Western powers.

Effie Defrin, spokesperson for Israeli military, said on Wednesday that Israel would "intensify the strikes on Hamas in Gaza City, the stronghold of the terror organisation." Defrin said the military would issue evacuation orders to minimize civilian casualties.

The military said it had begun to notify "medical officials and international organisations in northern Gaza Strip in order to prepare for the evacuation of the population to the southern Gaza Strip."