An estimated 81 per cent of Gaza’s entire territory is now within Israeli-declared “militarised zones” or is subject to forced displacement orders by Israeli forces, according to the latest UN situation report on the war-torn territory, Al Jazeera reports.

The UN human rights office has also identified an “escalating pattern” of Israeli strikes on crowded hospitals, residential buildings and tent shelters in Gaza, as well as the “methodical destruction of entire neighbourhoods” in the territory.

According to the situation report, the intensified Israeli assault on Gaza – since the recent launch of the “Gideon’s Chariots” military campaign – has been carried out with “little, if any, care … to protect the lives of civilians in Gaza”.

“The use of weapons with wide area effects suggest deliberate, indiscriminate attack,” according to the UN human rights office.