Hamas said Israeli strikes on Gaza have killed almost 50 of the hostages its operatives seized in bloody cross-border attacks as the United Nations warned “nowhere is safe” in the territory.

The group’s armed wing made the claim, which AFP could not immediately verify, after Israel sent tanks, troops and armoured bulldozers into the enclave in a “targeted raid” overnight that the military said destroyed multiple sites before withdrawing.

“(Ezzedine) Al-Qassam Brigades estimates that the number of Zionist prisoners who were killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of Zionist strikes and massacres has reached almost 50”, the group said in a statement on its Telegram channel.