Dozens of people were reported killed across Gaza in fresh Israeli strikes on Friday, while Israel said three of its soldiers died in the northern town of Jabalia.
An Israeli strike on Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip killed at least 38 people, according to the health authority in Gaza, which is controlled by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The Palestinian news agency WAFA earlier said at least 28 people died in the incident, primarily children and women.
Dozens of others were injured in the attack that reportedly targeted a residential building.
WAFA also reported at least 20 deaths and dozens of injuries in Israeli strikes on two buildings in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.
The figures could not be independently verified. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was investigating the reports.
Three Israeli troops killed
Also on Friday, the IDF said three of its troops were killed in Jabalia, where Israeli forces have been operating in recent weeks.
The three men, aged 21 and 22 years old, were killed when a bomb exploded on a tank.
Several soldiers were injured in the incident and are being treated in hospital.
The humanitarian situation in the area has been described as catastrophic by witnesses. The IDF says 45,000 civilians have recently fled.
Earlier, it said units in Jabalia “eliminated dozens of terrorists, dismantled terrorist infrastructure and secured numerous weapons over the course of the past day.”
Palestinian authorities reported numerous dead and injured in the area on Thursday after the Israeli military struck several houses.
Palestinian reports spoke of 150 victims, while the health authority mentioned 200. More precise details, such as the number of deaths and injuries, were unavailable.
The IDF said they were still investigating Thursday’s events but that the casualty figure was incorrect and not in line with its own information.
UN High Commissioner calls for protection of civilians
Amid the desperate situation in northern Gaza, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Friday called on the international community to protect the civilian population from serious human rights violations.
“We are facing what could amount to atrocity crimes, including potentially extending to crimes against humanity,” said Volker Türk.
The entire population in this area is affected by bombs, sieges, displacement and hunger, said the diplomat.
It is also “completely unacceptable” that Palestinian armed groups are putting their own people at risk by mixing with civilians, he emphasized.
Türk made a direct appeal to heads of state and government, imploring them to “put the protection of civilians and human rights first, and not to abandon that minimum of humanity.”
Israeli troops reportedly storm hospital
Separately on Friday, the health authority in Gaza said that Israeli soldiers had stormed the Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia.
The soldiers were also said to have made arrests and fired at the building, destroying windows and blocking access to vital medical supplies with their encirclement of the facility.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed units carried out an operation based on “intelligence information on the presence of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure in the area.”
It added that the hospital is still operating in an emergency capacity, while patients have been transferred out of the area in recent weeks.
Israeli authorities further said that the hospital has received supplies of fuel and blood, but the reports cannot be independently verified.
