The military offensive continued to advance to the edge of the congested district in Rafah on Wednesday. The incident was described as terrible following the bombing launched by Israel on Gaza this month.
Israel's invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza caused hundreds of thousands of residents to flee the enclave. About half of the 2.3 million people took refuge in the area.
The attack also cut off the main access route for aid to Gaza, sparking international concern over the humanitarian crisis there.
Israeli forces have been slowly moving to the eastern outskirts of Rafah since the beginning of May.
Residents said tanks began taking up new positions on Wednesday heading to locations further west than before but had not yet entered the district because of heavy fighting.
Israeli drones opened fire on the outskirts of the town of Yibna and attacked fishing boats off the coast of Rafah, causing some of them to burn.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza estimates that more than 800,000 residents have fled Rafah since Israel began targeting the city.
In the town of Zawayda in central Gaza, an Israeli airstrike killed seven individuals in a house. Jabalia, which houses eight refugee camps, was also attacked for two weeks.
Health officials and residents said entire residential districts were destroyed and dozens of people were killed in the attack.
