Israel deploys more troops near Gaza ahead of October 7 war anniversary

The Israeli military said on Sunday it deployed more troops to areas bordering Gaza, ahead of the one year anniversary of its deadly war in the Palestinian territory.

"The IDF's (army) Gaza Division has been reinforced with several platoons, with forces stationed to defend both the communities and the border area," the military said.

"The soldiers are fully equipped to defend the region in coordination with local security forces," it said in a statement.

Inside Gaza, the military said three divisions were working to "dismantle terrorist infrastructure and degrade Hamas's capabilities".

"The Southern Command remains at a heightened state of vigilance and readiness for the coming days," commanding officer Major General Yaron Finkelman was quoted as saying.

Earlier, the military said its forces had surrounded the area of Jabalia in central Gaza where Hamas was trying to rebuild its operational capabilities.

Gaza's civil defence agency said that Israeli air strikes killed at least 17 people. Spokesman Mahmud Bassal said multiple strikes rocked the overnight.

"There are 17 martyrs, including nine children, in Israeli air strikes in Jabaliya," he said.

On October 7 last year, Israel launched a brutal military onslaught on the Gaza Strip, and imposed a complete siege on the territory, in response to an attack carried out by Hamas on Israel's southern region.

Israeli forces have bombed every corner of Gaza since, killing at least 41,870 Palestinians as of Sunday, in one of the deadliest conflicts of the 21st century.

Israel's actions in the besieged Palestinian territory have been described as a genocide by several world leaders, UN agencies and NGOs. In December, South Africa filed a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Nearly all of the 2.4 million residents have been displaced at least once as a humanitarian crisis worsened.