The aid agency says its buildings in the central part of the territory were attacked after the military targeted Deir al-Balah, which had largely been spared.

The expansion of the 21-month-long offensive into the densely populated area comes as Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with the UN warning that Israel’s assault on the territory and restriction of aid deliveries had left its 2.1mn population at risk of famine.

The Israel Defense Forces said it struck "the entrance" of Syria's military headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday.