Israel strikes neighbourhood after neighbourhood in sealed-off Gaza

New exchanges of fire over Israel’s northern borders with militants in Lebanon and Syria on Tuesday pointed to the risk of an expanded regional conflict.

Israeli airstrikes destroyed buildings in Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip (Hatem Ali/AP)

Residents of the Gaza Strip were scrambling to find safety on Wednesday, as Israeli warplanes targeted neighbourhood after neighbourhood in the tiny coastal enclave, retaliating for the deadly weekend attack by Hamas militants.

As Gazans crowded into UN schools and a shrinking number of safe neighbourhoods, humanitarian groups pleaded for the creation of corridors to get aid into Gaza, warning that hospitals overwhelmed with wounded people were running out of supplies.