In the very north of Gaza, Israel's tanks rolled back into Beit Hanoun, which troops had left weeks earlier. Israel said it was targeting Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives based at schools where displaced families were living. Locals talked of men being stripped and detained.

Israel launched more deadly strikes on besieged Gaza on Thursday as world powers watched nervously whether the country would retaliate against a weekend attack by its arch enemy Iran.The Israeli army said it had bombed dozens of targets in the Palestinian coastal territory of 2.

Iran's attack on Israel drew applause from many Palestinians in Gaza on Sunday as rare payback for the Israeli offensive on their enclave, although some said they suspected Tehran had staged the assault more for show than to inflict real damage.