BEIRUT, September 16. /TASS/. Civil defense units in Gaza City have pulled 27 bodies from under the rubble of buildings collapsed in Israeli air strikes over the past couple of hours.

According to Al Mayadeen TV channel, first responders continue to clear debris in the neighborhoods of Bani Amer, Daraj and Al Tuffah. It is possible that the number of casualties will climb.

Earlier, five deaths were reported near Al Shifa Hospital in the western part of Gaza. They were found in a camp for displaced persons following a shelling attack.

According to the TV channel, Israeli troops intensified their strikes on the city to force the remaining residents to leave their homes. To date, 350,000 residents have left the besieged enclave’s capital. The majority of them headed to the humanitarian zone established in the El Mawasi neighborhood in the south of Khan Yunis.

On September 8, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would soon launch a major offensive on the Palestinian city of Gaza, due to which local residents should leave it immediately. Over the past week, Israel’s air force has attacked more than 850 targets in the city, laying the groundwork for the land operation.