Gaza Strip (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – An Israeli tank fires on a car near Salahedin Road, in the Zaytun district on the southern fringes of Gaza City. Israeli tanks advanced into the district on 30 October, cutting a key road from the north to the south of the war-torn Palestinian territory. Since 27 October, Israeli forces have stepped up their ground offensive in response to the 7 October Hamas attacks that officials say killed 1,400 people in Israel, mostly civilians, with more than 220 people taken hostage. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says more than 8,000 people, mostly civilians and almost half of them children, have been killed in retaliatory Israeli air and ground strikes.