ISRAEL STEPS UP STRIKES IN SOUTHERN GAZA AS WAR CONTINUES

 Intense fighting has continued in Gaza, even as Israel announced plans to pull back some combat troops

Residents say Israeli war planes and tanks have stepped up bombings and artillery fire in the southern city of Khan Younis

The Israeli military says its troops have killed dozens of Palestinian fighters in Jabalia in the north, and targeted others in Gaza City and coastal areas

Hamas officials say more than 200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in the past 24 hours

In the West Bank, the IDF says it killed four Palestinian militants in a counter-terrorism operation

On Monday, Israel's military said it was planning to pull some reservists out of Gaza in preparation for "prolonged fighting" it said would continue all year

At least 1,200 people were killed when Hamas militants attacked Israel on 7 October and about 240 others were taken hostage

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says more than 22,000 people have been killed in the territory since Israel started its retaliatory campaign 

Israel says operations in West Bank are pre-emptive

Yolande Knell

Middle East correspondent, in Jerusalem

As we've been reporting, Israel's military earlier said it killed four Palestinian militants during an overnight raid in the occupied West Bank town of Azzun.

Israel Defense Forces has said that its operations in the West Bank are pre-emptive and aimed at dealing with security threats. It says it has carried out a wide campaign against Hamas and other armed factions in the territory over the past three months.

It says that more than 2,550 people have been arrested, approximately 1,300 of whom are associated with Hamas.

Hamas is considered to be a terrorist organisation by Israel, the UK, US and other Western powers.

Last week, a UN report deplored what it said was a "rapid deterioration" of human rights in the West Bank and urged Israeli authorities to end violence against the Palestinian population there.

"The use of military tactics, means and weapons in law enforcement contexts, the use of unnecessary or disproportionate force, and the enforcement of broad, arbitrary and discriminatory movement restrictions that affect Palestinians are extremely troubling," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said.

Israel says it hit military targets in Syria

Israel says it has struck Syrian military targets, in retaliation to Syrian rocket fire on northern Israel late on Monday.

The IDF says it hit military infrastructure of the Syrian army, but Syrian state media denies this.

Syrian state news agency SANA said an Israeli air strike early on Tuesday targeted positions on the outskirts of Damascus causing some material damage.

Since the start of the war in Gaza on 7 October, the IDF has escalated its strikes in Syria, including Damascus and Aleppo airports and locations where Iranian-backed militia allegedly operates.

THIS AND MANY MORE UPDATES AT: Israel-Gaza war live: Israel steps up strikes in southern Gaza, residents say - BBC News