Israeli forces killed at least 16 Palestinians across Gaza on Thursday and wounded dozens in the south of this Palestinian enclave, local health officials said, as residents reported intensified military bombardment in the suburbs of Gaza City, Reuters reports.

The military is preparing to take Gaza City, the enclave's largest urban centre, despite international calls on Israel to reconsider this over fears that the operation would cause significant casualties and displace the roughly one million Palestinians sheltering there.

In Gaza City, residents said families were fleeing their homes, with most heading towards the coast, as Israel forces bombarded the eastern suburbs of Shejaia, Zeitoun, and Sabra. 

Thursday's deaths took to 71 the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours, the health ministry said.

Israel officials describe Gaza City as the last stronghold of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The Israeli military said it had killed three “militants” in the past day, without saying how they had identified the individuals.

Four were killed and dozens were wounded near aid sites in southern Gaza.

A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross told Reuters that 31 "weapon-wounded" patients, most with gunshot wounds, were admitted to the Red Cross Field Hospital in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. Four of them were declared dead on arrival.