CAIRO   -  Israeli forces battled Palestinian fighters in the southern Gaza city of Rafah on Sunday, and struck areas in the centre of the coastal enclave where thousands of Palestinians displaced from their homes have been seeking shelter.

Residents in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, said fierce battles raged between Hamas-led fighters and Israeli forces, especially in the centre and in western areas where tanks advanced in the previous two days.

The armed wings of the Islamic Jihad and Hamas Islamist groups said fighters confronted Israeli forces with anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs. The Israeli military said its soldiers had killed a group of fighters who were moving towards them, and destroyed ammunition, tunnel shafts and infrastructure in Tel al-Sultan, in the eastern part of the city. A ceasefire effort led by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States has so far failed because of disagreements between the combatants, who blame each other for the impasse.

Israeli strikes in the previous 24 hours killed at least 64 and wounded more than 100 others, the local health ministry said. At least 22 were killed by strikes on Sunday, according to the Hamas-run Gaza government media office.