Yamama Jundia, 13, injured in an Israeli airstrike, grieves alongside others over the bodies of their relatives, who were killed in the same strike, at the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City on Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)2025-04-04T12:44:04Z DEIR AL BALAH, Gaza (AP) Israeli strikes killed more than a dozen people in the Gaza Strip early Friday, as Israel sent more ground troops into the Palestinian territory to ramp up its offensive against Hamas.At least 17 people, some from the same family, were killed after an airstrike hit the southern city of Khan Younis, according to hospital staff. Hours later, people were still searching through the rubble, looking for survivors. The attack follows days of Israeli strikes, which have killed at least 100 people, as it intensifies operations, intended to pressure Hamas to release its hostages. On Friday, Israel said it had begun ground activity in northern Gaza, in order to expand its security zone. Israels military had issued sweeping evacuation orders for parts of northern Gaza before expected ground operations. The U.N. humanitarian office said around 280,000 Palestinians have been displaced since Israel ended the ceasefire with Hamas last month. In recent days, Israels vowed to seize large parts of the Palestinian territory and establish a new security corridor across it. To pressure Hamas, Israel has imposed a monthlong blockade on food, fuel and humanitarian aid that has left civilians facing acute shortages as supplies dwindle a tactic that rights groups say is a war crime. Israel said earlier this week that enough food had entered Gaza during a six-week truce to sustain the territorys roughly 2 million Palestinians for a long time. Hamas says it will only release the remaining 59 hostages 24 of whom are believed to be alive in exchange for the release of more Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and an Israeli pullout from Gaza. The group has rejected demands that it lay down its arms or leave the territory. The predawn strike on Friday hit a three-story building. In addition to the dead, the attack wounded at least 16 people from the same family. Associated Press reporters saw bodies being carried out in blankets, while others searched for people trapped under the rubble and collected charred remains. We dont know how to collect them and how to bury them. We dont know whose remains these are. They were burned and dismembered, said Ismail Al-Aqqad, whose brother died in the strike, as well as his brothers family.On Thursday, more than 30 bodies, including women and children, were taken to hospitals in and around Khan Younis, according to hospital staff.Israel said Friday that it had killed a top Hamas commander in a strike in Lebanons coastal city of Sidon. Israel said that Hassan Farhat was a commander of Hamas western area in Lebanon and that he was responsible for numerous attacks against Israel, including one in February 2024, which killed an Israeli soldier and injured others. The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements and other deals. Israel rescued eight living hostages and has recovered dozens of bodies. More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza as part of Israels offensive, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which doesnt say whether those killed are civilians or combatants. The ministry says more than half of those killed were women and children. Israel says it has killed around 20,000 militants, without providing evidence.The war has left most of Gaza in ruins, and at its height displaced around 90% of the population.___Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war