Israeli troops and tanks launched an hourslong ground raid into northern Gaza overnight into Thursday, the military said, striking several terrorist targets in order to “prepare the battlefield” ahead of a widely expected ground invasion after more than two weeks of devastating air raids.

The raid came after the UN warned it is on the verge of running out of fuel in the Gaza Strip, forcing it to sharply curtail relief efforts in the territory, which has also been under a complete siege since Hamas’ bloody rampage across southern Israel ignited the war earlier this month.

The rising death tolls in Gaza are unprecedented in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Even greater loss of life could come if Israel launches an expected ground offensive aimed at crushing Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007 and survived four previous wars with Israel.

The Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza said Wednesday that more than 750 people were killed over the past 24 hours, higher than the 704 killed the previous day.

The Associated Press could not independently verify the death toll, and the ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

By comparison, 2,251 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed in the entire six-week-long war in 2014, according to UN figures.

In preparation for the next stages of combat, the IDF operated in northern Gaza. IDF tanks & infantry struck numerous terrorist cells, infrastructure and anti-tank missile launch posts. The soldiers have since exited the area and returned to Israeli territory. pic.twitter.com/oMdSDR84rU

On Wednesday, the wife, son, daughter and grandson of Wael Dahdouh, a veteran Al-Jazeera correspondent in Gaza, were killed in an Israeli strike.

The Qatar-based network showed footage of his grief upon entering a hospital and seeing his dead son. Dahdouh and other mourners attended the funerals on Thursday wearing the blue flak jackets used by reporters in the Palestinian territories.

The Israeli military says it only strikes terrorist targets and accuses Hamas of operating among civilians in densely-populated Gaza. Hamas terrorists have fired rocket barrages into Israel since the war began.

During the overnight raid, soldiers killed fighters and destroyed terrorists infrastructure and anti-tank missile launching positions, the military said.

It said no Israeli were wounded.

During the overnight raid, soldiers killed fighters and destroyed terrorists infrastructure and anti-tank missile launching positions, the military said.

There was no immediate confirmation of any Palestinian casualties.

Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, a military spokesman, said the limited incursion was “part of our preparations for the next stages of the war.”

Israel also said it had also carried out some 250 airstrikes across Gaza in the last 24 hours, targeting tunnel shafts, rocket launchers and other terrorist infrastructure.

An airstrike on the southern town of Khan Younis hit a residential building where 75 people were staying, according to family members, including 25 who had fled other parts of Gaza.

Ambulances streamed into the nearby Nasser Hospital, but there was no official word on casualties.

The Gaza Health Ministry says more than 6,500 Palestinians have been killed in the war.

That figure includes the disputed toll from an explosion at a hospital last week.