An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires a shell from southern Israel towards the Gaza Strip. AP

A month into the war, Israel's military says it's fighting in the ‘depths’ of Gaza City after encircling the northern part of the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will have "overall security responsibility” in Gaza "for an indefinite period” after its war with Hamas. His comments in a TV interview offered the clearest indication yet that Israel plans to maintain control over the territory that's home to some 2.3 million Palestinians.

Several hundred thousand people are believed to remain in the north in the assault’s path. Hundreds of Palestinians fled Gaza City to the south on Tuesday, raising their hands and waving white flags to move past Israeli tanks. Some came on donkey carts, most on foot, a few pushing aged relatives in wheelchairs, all visibly exhausted and many with nothing but their clothes on their back.

The number of Palestinians killed in the war passed 10,300, including more than 4,200 children, the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said on Tuesday.

A woman holds up a white shirt trying to prevent being shot, as Palestinians flee to the southern Gaza Strip. AP

In the occupied West Bank, more than 160 Palestinians have been killed in the violence and Israeli raids. More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the fighting, and 242 hostages were taken from Israel into Gaza by the Hamas group.

Associated Press