Israeli infantry backed by tanks and armoured bulldozers have attacked Hamas targets in an hours-long overnight ground raid into the northern Gaza Strip, as officials raised the number of hostages confirmed to be held by the militant Islamist group to 224.

The raid came as EU leaders were set to call for the establishment of “humanitarian corridors and pauses” to get urgently needed aid into Gaza, according to the final draft of a text to be approved at a summit in Brussels on Thursday.

Grainy video footage released by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) showed a column of at least a dozen main battle tanks and other armoured vehicles crossing through an opening in the Gaza border wall and firing on a nearby built-up area of damaged buildings.

Although Israeli troops have been raiding frequently into Gaza in the recent fighting, this incursion was described as far more significant in scale and aimed at shaping the conditions for fighting in immediate border areas for the “next stages of the war”.

The troops – who according to Israeli media reports came from the Givati brigade and 162nd Armoured Division – returned from the raid without casualties.

"Through air strikes, we eliminated terrorists, neutralized threats, removed explosives, neutralized ambushes, and enabled ground forces to move on to the next phase of the war," Israeli military spokesperson Admiral Daniel Hagari said.

Since October 7, when armed Hamas fighters poured across the border, Israel has shelled Gaza, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping others.

According to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, more than 6,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, and there are fears that number will rise if Israel moves forward with its ground invasion.

Veteran Al Jazeera reporter Wael al-Dahdou's wife, son, daughter and grandson were killed in an Israeli attack this week, his employer announced.

A Qatar-based broadcaster showed footage of his grief as he entered the hospital and saw his dead son. Dahdou and other mourners attended Thursday's funeral wearing blue bulletproof vests worn by journalists in the Palestinian territories.

The Israeli army says it only attacks insurgent targets and accuses Hamas of operating among civilians in the densely populated Gaza Strip. Palestinian militants have been firing rockets at Israel since the war began.

As tens of thousands of troops gather on the Gaza border, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is "raining hellfire" and ready for a major ground offensive. said.

"I can't say when, how or how many are being considered. Most of them are not known to the public," he said.