Israeli forces battled Hamas around several hospitals on Wednesday, despite a UN Security Council demand for a ceasefire.
Talks in Qatar toward a truce and hostage release deal through US and Egyptian mediators have so far failed, with Israel and Hamas blaming each other.
Tensions have increased between Israel and the United States over severe food shortages in Gaza and the soaring civilian death toll.
The US is also against Israeli plans to continue its ground offensive into the far-southern city of Rafah, crowded with up to 1.5 million people, the majority displaced.
Israeli strikes again hit Gaza City and Rafah with heavy bombardment overnight.
Israeli forces have fought militants in and around three Gaza hospitals, increasing fears for patients, medical staff, and displaced people.
Fighting has continued since last week around al-Shifa hospital in Gaza and more recently near two hospitals in Khan Yunis.
The army and Shin Bet security service said they were “continuing to conduct precise operational activities” in both cities “while preventing harm to civilians, patients, medical teams, and medical equipment.”
The army said dozens of militants have been killed “in the area “of al-Shifa and “hundreds of terrorists have been captured.
“We’re operating in the area, but we haven’t been inside the hospital,” a military spokesperson informed AFP.
The UN has warned Gaza’s population of 2.4 million is at the edge of a “man-made” famine.
Donor governments have airdropped food into Gaza, where crowds have rushed toward the packages, causing 18 deaths reported in stampedes and drowning in the Mediterranean Sea.
Delivery by aid trucks has slowed since the beginning of the war with Israeli officials conducting lengthy inspections.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 32,490 people in the territory, the majority civilians, the Hamas-run health ministry said.
It followed Hamas’ attack on October 7, when about 1,160 people were killed, the majority civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
The UN Security Council on Monday passed its first resolution demanding an “immediate ceasefire” and the release of hostages.
Hamas captured about 250 people on October 7 and about 130 remain in Gaza, including 34 presumed dead.
The United States abstained in a vote on the resolution, causing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a scheduled visit to the US to hold talks on the situation in Rafah.
A US official later said Israel wants to reschedule the talks.
An Israeli raid on Wednesday in the northern city of Jenin in the West Bank killed three people on Wednesday.
