Unnamed hospital sources have told Al Jazeera that 68 people have been killed since Tuesday morning.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli military announced that they had begun the main part of the invasion of Gaza City.

The consequences have been dozens of deaths, according to Al Jazeera and Haaretz, among others. In addition, many are reported missing. Aftenposten cannot independently verify the information.

Resident Ahmed Ghazal tells the AFP news agency that people are trapped in the ruins of homes that have been bombed.

– We can hear their screams, the 25-year-old tells the news agency.

At the same time, thousands of Palestinians continue to flee south to escape the attacks.

Haaretz refers to a statement from the Israeli army (IDF) stating that the military already controls 40 percent of the city.

Secretary-General of the UN, António Guterres, says what is now happening in Gaza is terrible and a systematic destruction of Gaza City.

As the situation in the Gaza Strip worsens, the UN is calling what is happening a genocide.

– Why do they kill children?

One of the buildings hit is an apartment building in the north of the city, AFP reports.

"There were about 50 people inside the building, including women and children. I don't know why they bombed it," Abu Abd Zaqout told the news agency.

His uncle's family lived in the block.

– Why kill children who are sleeping peacefully like that and turn them into body parts? We pulled the children out into pieces, says Zaqout.

The area around the building is described as a sea of destruction. A family tries to load their belongings into a car parked on a nearly impassable road surrounded by large amounts of debris.

– All the dead are children, elderly people and women. They are all under the ruins, he says.

Gaza's Civil Defense says at least twelve people were killed in the attack, and that a large number of civilians are still missing under the rubble.

The AFP news agency has contacted the Israeli military and has been told that they will attempt to investigate the information.

Media restrictions in the area and problems with access mean that AFP cannot independently verify reported death tolls and other information - neither from the civil defense nor the Israeli military.

UN: Genocide. Israel: Defamatory.

Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, concludes the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry for the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Israel calls the report defamatory.

The Commission of Inquiry was established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021 and is led by the former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, South African Navi Pillay.

- We have come to the conclusion that a genocide is taking place in Gaza, and that responsibility lies with the State of Israel.

This is what Pillay says, who has also previously been a judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC) and at the International Tribunal for the Rwandan Genocide.

“It is clear that there is an intent to destroy the Palestinians in Gaza, through actions that meet the criteria set out in the Genocide Convention,” she says.

The Norwegian government will not conclude that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, as the UN Independent Commission of Inquiry for the Occupied Palestinian Territories does, says Jonas Gahr Støre, who points out that Norway's position is based on the ICJ's line.

Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide (Ap) said Tuesday evening that Norway condemns Israel's ground invasion of Gaza City, which the Israeli military initiated on Tuesday.

Now many fear that Israel's offensive in Gaza City will worsen an already catastrophic situation, including the EU.