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People on the ground and witnesses state that dozens Israeli tanks and military equipment have pushed into a major residential district of Gaza City, marking the second day of Israel's ground offensive designed to securing the territory.

Recorded images shows armored vehicles, construction vehicles and military transports moving on the perimeter of Sheikh Radwan, in northern Gaza City. Heavy clouds of smoke can be seen as Israeli forces discharge artillery shells and obscuring devices to mask their progress.

The Sheikh Radwan district was home to numerous families of people before the hostilities and is regarded one of the city's heavily inhabited areas.

Israel states that the aim of its Gaza City operation is to free hostages detained by Hamas and overcome up to 3,000 militants in what it describes as the group's "remaining fortress" - but the operation has provoked broad international censure.

The leaders of over 20 major aid agencies, including Save the Children and Oxfam, cautioned that "the inhumanity of the circumstances in Gaza is inexcusable".

Locals in Sheikh Radwan stated that Wednesday's incursion followed a barrage of intense airstrikes striking buildings and key avenues across the area, in what appeared to be planning for the ground assault.

"Aerial devices avoided anything. They damaged energy collectors, power generators, storage containers, even the communications system," Saad Hamada who evacuated to the south with his family earlier on Wednesday told.

"Life became unbearable, and that is what forced many residents to leave despite the peril."

Sheikh Radwan includes the zones of Abu Iskandar, al-Tawam, and al-Saftawi, and is intersected by al-Jalaa Street, a vital route joining central Gaza City with its north districts.

Residents believe Israeli control of the area could pave the way for forces to progress deeper into the city and access its inner sections.

The images of tanks in Gaza City's roads have generated widespread panic among residents, notably those still living in the western and downtown parts of the city.

Observers said the presence of tanks advancing toward their homes revived recollections of earlier advances, that ended with complete neighborhoods being flattened.

The advance into Sheikh Radwan has resulted in an additional surge of relocation, with numerous families of families escaping to southern areas.

Lengthy columns of cars and carts loaded with possessions were seen on the roads, as the Israeli army opened a route to the south via the Salahedin Road. Locals reported journeys requiring hours and demanding hundreds of shekels due to the shortage of transport and escalating prices.

Before the war, Sheikh Radwan was one of Gaza City's most vibrant areas, host to dozens of schools, mosques, and shopping zones.

It had already been hit frequently by bombing runs in previous months, and there is broad destruction, but the sight of tanks inside the area now marks a notable new chapter in Israel's land offensive.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated on Wednesday morning that it had struck more than 150 objectives across Gaza City in two days in assistance of its infantry forces.

As part of its operations, the IDF is also reportedly utilising old military vehicles filled with explosives that have been modified to be controlled from a distance. They are being directed to Hamas positions and exploded, as reported by Israeli media.

"The previous night was incredibly difficult, with continuous explosions and shelling that persisted from night until dawn," resident Nidal al-Sherbi stated.

"Israeli vehicles advanced from Sheikh Radwan, Tal al-Hawa, and also from Shejaiya. It was a very, very frightening night."

Aid groups, UN agencies and others say the "designated region" people are told to move to is heavily overcrowded and insufficient to support the approximately two million Palestinians who are projected to crowd into it.

Some who followed the military's orders to evacuate to the zone say they found no space to pitch their tents, so they retreated north.

"Each day leaflets are thrown at us ordering evacuation, while the Israeli army shells buildings in every direction," Munir Azzam stated. "But where can we go? We have no safe place in the south."

The IDF stated on Tuesday that approximately 350,000 people had evacuated Gaza City, while the UN put the estimate at 190,000 since August. Projections suggest at least 650,000 are still present.

Israel initiated its war in Gaza in answer to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

No fewer than 65,062 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since then, approximately half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry.

It reported on Wednesday that 98 people had been killed and 385 injured by Israeli fire in the past 24 hours. Another four people had died from malnutrition, taking the total number of malnutrition-related deaths since a UN-backed body declared famine in Gaza City in late August to 154, it added.

The UN has warned that an intensification of the offensive will push civilians into "even deeper catastrophe".

On Tuesday, a UN commission of inquiry said Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel's foreign ministry rejected the report and denounced it as "distorted and false".