Palestinian residents of Gaza City have come under relentless Israeli bombardment as the military prepares for a major offensive to seize and ethnically cleanse the area, barring emergency workers from reaching people trapped in the residential Zeitoun neighbourhood.

Israel's security cabinet has approved a plan to take control of Gaza City, in a controversial escalation of its war in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians live in the city in the north of the Gaza Strip. It was the enclave's most populous city before the war.

The move, still under consideration, aims to increase pressure on Israel and potentially halt the military advance into the city

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that Israel's goal was not to occupy Gaza, but to "free Gaza."

An airstrike on Gaza City killed at least 12 people as the conflict entered a new phase with an Israeli offensive to rid the city of Hamas and free hostages.

On the ground, however, residents of Gaza City said they had come under unrelenting attack from the air. Majed al-Hosary, a resident in Zeitoun in Gaza City, told AFP that the attacks had been "extremely intense for two days".

Pro-Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil kicked off the rally outside the New York Public Library near Bryant Park before those in attendance started marching across Manhattan. Protesters called for an end to the Israel-Hamas war and for the United States to stop sending aid to Israel. People from across the country attended.

At least 10 Moro activists who are mostly from war-ravaged Marawi City are joining the global flotilla aiming to break the military siege on Gaza City and bring much-needed humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people amid the Israeli Defence Force’s stepped up offensive.