Israeli forces have killed at least 60 Palestinians in aerial and ground bombardments across the Gaza Strip in a day and battled in close combat with Hamas-led fighters in areas of the southern city of Rafah, Reuters reports citing health officials and Hamas media.

Israeli tanks advanced in Rafah’s southeast, edged towards the city’s western district of Yibna and continued to operate in three eastern suburbs, Reuters quotes residents as saying.

“The occupation (Israeli forces) is trying to move further to the west, they are on the edge of Yibna, which is densely populated. They didn’t invade it yet,” one resident said, asking not to be named.

“We hear explosions and we see black smoke coming up from the areas where the army has invaded. It was another very difficult night,” he told Reuters via a chat app.