Several Palestinians and Israeli soldiers say troops are systematically forcing Palestinians to act as human shields in Gaza, sending them into buildings and tunnels to check for bombs and gunmen.

Israel’s renewed effort to “conquer” the strip has forced 300,000 starving Palestinians to flee south in just 48 hours.

Israel has recently stepped up its campaign in Gaza drawing international criticism and calls to allow in more supplies after it eased a total aid blockade imposed on March 2.

Najjar, a Gazan paediatrician, found her family's house on fire after the strikes, her husband, fellow doctor Hamdi al-Najjar, was severely wounded and their only surviving child, an 11-year-old son,

Intensified military operations in Gaza are magnifying the danger for children. UNICEF staff remain on the ground, doing what they can to help children and families.

Plumes of smoke rose Thursday over the northern Gaza Strip where Israel's military urged civilians to evacuate, as rescuers said Israeli strikes across the territory killed more than 50 people.The latest evacuation warning for parts of Gaza City and neighbouring areas came hours after the United Nations said it had begun distributing around 90 truckloads of aid in Gaza -- the first such delivery since Israel imposed a total blockade on March 2.

The United Nations chief said Friday that Palestinians were enduring "the cruelest phase" of the war in Gaza, where more than a dozen food trucks were looted following the partial easing of a lengthy Israeli blockade.