Israel is making plans for a potential major ground offensive in Gaza that would involve sending tens of thousands of troops into combat to clear and occupy large swaths of the enclave, an Israeli official and a second source familiar with the matter said.

Gaza’s health ministry said that the death toll in the enclave since the war started had passed 50,000 people.

More than 200 Palestinians were killed in overnight Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip, the Hamas-ruled enclave's Ministry of Health said, as Hamas accused Israel of violating a fragile ceasefire deal.