Israel’s military has said that its forces have surrounded Gaza’s main city, while rejecting growing international calls for a ceasefire to halt bloodshed in the Palestinian territory.

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Thursday that Gaza City has been encircled nearly a week after its forces expanded ground operations in the Hamas-governed enclave.

However Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, last week sez, the war against Hamas has entered the “second stage”.

Meanwhile Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, has warned in response that Gaza will be the “curse of history for Israel” and that Israeli soldiers entering the enclave will go home “in black bags”.