Israel, Hamas Engage in Some of Fiercest Fighting of War

TEL AVIV—Israeli and Hamas are locked in some of their fiercest fighting of the two-month-old war, including at close quarters, as Israel launched its offensive in the south while trying to finish its operations in and around Gaza City.

The Israeli military has essentially cornered Hamas fighters in two of their last strongholds in the northern Gaza Strip—the Shajaiya neighborhood of Gaza City and the city of Jabalia, immediately to the north.