Tanks push into Rafah, Gaza reels from strike as Israel claims Palestine inflates casualty count

More than 450,000 civilians have fled Rafah as Israeli tanks roll deeper into the city and central Gaza reels from an air strike.

At least a dozen people have been killed during the strike which hit part of the Nuseirat refugee camp with fears the number of victims will continue to rise as rescuers search the rubble for survivors.

The United Nations has launched a probe into the death of one of their staff members – the first casualty of an internation UN worker since the war’s commencement.

The staffer, an Indian national, was killed and their Jordanian colleague injured when their vehicle, bearing UN insignia, was shot by a tank on Monday.

Israeli troops fought Hamas militants in multiple battles across the Gaza Strip, forcing new waves of Palestinian mass displacement as Israel marked a sombre Independence Day on Tuesday.

Clashes have rocked the densely crowded far-southern city of Rafah but also flared again in northern and central Gaza, months after troops and tanks first entered those areas.

The World Food Programme is preparing to deliver vital aid to desperate Gazans via an American built floating pier in the coming days.

Meanwhile, the Israeli government has claimed the Palestinian Ministry for Health has overinflated the death toll throughout the conflict.

Israel government spokesperson Avi Hyman told Fox News the true number of civilian deaths was closer to 16,000 – as opposed to the 35,000 cited by Palestine.

“The United Nations has rubber-stamped these Hamas numbers and become a Hamas newswire to the world,” Hyman said.

“In reality, Israel is setting the new gold standard for urban warfare with what appears to be the lowest civilian to combatant casualty ratios in history.”

However, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres continued to call for an immediate ceasefire.

“Civilians must be respected and protected at all times, in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza. For people in Gaza, nowhere is safe now,” Guterres said via spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.