A candlelight vigil has been held in Sydney's south to remember Lilie James as her former community grapples with grief.

The young water polo and swimming coach had just turned 21 when her body was found in the gymnasium bathroom of St Andrew's Cathedral School before midnight on Wednesday in an "apparent homicide".

Residents and community leaders from James' local area of Kogarah Bay shared their memories of the coach at nearby Sans Souci today.

READ MORE: Man found dead in Homebush after allegedly dragged through street

As they gathered in grief and disbelief, they all lit candles for James – the third woman in the area lost to domestic violence this year, the 55th victim in Australia – on the eve of a rally against domestic violence being held in Sydney on Sunday.

"I have grandchildren who are getting up to that age, you want the world to be happier and safer for them," one resident told 9News.

The tears and flowers continued to flow at St Andrew's Cathedral School, where James worked, on Saturday.

A card from the Danebrook Aquatic Centre, where the coach was a champion swimmer, read "fly high beautiful girl".

"We will always remember your sweet smile and gorgeous nature," the card said.

"You will never be forgotten."

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Meanwhile, her best friend Kristina described James her as "sister" and her "everything".

"I love you more than anything in this entire world," she said.

"We had so much planned together, so much to do and so much to experience. You will forever be my angel above."

On Friday, a body believed to be suspected killer Paul Thijssen – a former student at the school who had been working there as a sports assistant and who briefly dated James – was found in the water off Vaucluse.

The same day detectives visited his share house in Kensington and took items from his room.

Neighbours said he had lived there for a few months with several flatmates.

A special assembly will be held for students when they return to school on Monday morning.

There will also be additional counsellors on site while several exams have been cancelled and the sports centre where James was found will remain off limits.

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If you are in immediate danger call triple zero (000).

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An investigation is underway after a man's body was found in Sydney after he was believed to have been dragged by a car.

Police allege the man, 44, was dragged through a housing complex in Homebush West before he was found dead by first responders on Courallie Avenue at 8pm on Friday.

Police are urging anyone who may have been in the area at the time to contact them with dashcam or CCTV footage.

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There have been reports that a car was seen fleeing the scene after the incident. 

Investigations are continuing and a crime scene has been established. 

The owner of an upmarket restaurant in Melbourne has broken down after a fire destroyed his venue just three weeks after it opened. 

Matti Fallon watched as his restaurant Colt Dining in Mornington went up in flames, with a leak thought to have sparked an electrical fire.

The ferocious blaze quickly spread to other businesses along Main Street, with diners inside and at neighbouring restaurants running to safety as the flames took hold and spread.

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"I've only recovered from brain surgery a couple of years ago," Fallon said.

"To get back on top, now we're back on top, to get it all smashed away, it's just heartbreaking really."

The restaurant was so popular that Fallon and business partner Paul Goddard were already taking bookings for next year. 

Several other businesses were damaged including a bakery and an Afghan restaurant.

READ MORE: Israel knocks out Gaza communications, expands ground operations

"No one was hurt, no one was killed, it's just material stuff but yeah it's tough," Goddard said.

Crews monitored the scene for most of the day but it was difficult to get inside as the heritage building is in danger of collapse. 

Colt Dining may have been new but the eatery was making a splash with an upmarket menu and diners treated to the sounds of an expansive record collection.

However, the highly flammable vinyl helped fuel the inferno. 

While it will be incredibly difficult, Fallon and Goddard have vowed to rebuild and reopen to continue the journey together they had only just started.

Bob Carr, the former Premier of New South Wales, announced his wife Helena died two days ago, while they were on a trip together in Vienna.

In a statement released on Saturday evening, he revealed his wife of 50-years lost consciousness in his arms as a result of a brain aneurism on Thursday.

"The light has gone out of my life," Bob Carr said in the statement, also sharing their last photo together, taken during their holiday.

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"She was the light of my life, the little friend always there. No one ever smiled more, or with more spirit," he added.

"It is inconceivable I could have won office for my party and held the Premiership for over 10 years without the steadiness of her companionship, her sense of fun and her lambent eyes."

Mr Carr, who served as NSW Premier for 10 years from 1995 to 2005 and later was Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Rudd/Gillard federal Labor governments, said the couple had been enjoying a nice trip before the shock turn of events.

The couple had a nice stroll in the Austrian city, had lunch with two Australian friends and even went to the opera.

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"She was full of zest and jokes as we walked back to our hotel," he recalled.

"Within 20 minutes she referred to strange back pain, then a headache and nausea."

"Our 50-year partnership ended in the hotel bathroom when she sunk into my arms and I broke her fall to the floor. Her eyes closed for the last time while I begged her not to leave me."

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Helena lost consciousness in his arms as a result of a brain aneurism, with Bob told on Thursday night that she was officially dead.

"Her little heart continues to beat but her brain has haemorrhaged with a massive amount of blood," he said.

Helena Carr was born in Malaysia in 1946 and came to Sydney in 1965 to study at Our Lady of Mercy College in Parramatta.

Mr Carr said that as a girl in Taiping, Malaysia, she had written letters to Australian schools and was accepted by the school. She later studied economics at Sydney University.

"I met Helena on a trip back from the United States during a stopover in Tahiti in early 1971," Mr Carr said.

"She was an accomplished businesswoman. Her first job in business was with CSR. She later became an expert in security printing and was appointed to the board of the biggest company in the field before becoming the half-owner and manager of a sizeable print company that specialised in high quality commercial work."

Mr Carr called the loss of his life partner "the journey no one wishes".

Current NSW Premier Chris Minns said "the entire Labor family" was devastated by the news and would be waiting for Mr Carr's return to Australia to offer friendship and support.

"Bob and Helena were a wonderful partnership with Helena offering unconditional support to Bob and Labor during his years in the Premiership," Minns said.

"Helena was also a very successful businesswoman in her own right."

Protests have been held across the country today calling for an immediate ceasefire.

Two or three homeless people slept in the derelict house periodically.

Israel knocked out internet and communications in the Gaza Strip in stepped-up bombardment on Friday night, largely cutting off its 2.3 million people from contact with each other and the outside world and creating a near-blackout of information, as the military said it was "expanding" ground operations in the territory.

The military's announcement signaled it was moving closer to an all-out invasion of Gaza, where it has vowed to crush the ruling Hamas militant group after its bloody incursion in southern Israel three weeks ago.

Explosions from continuous airstrikes lit up the sky over Gaza City for hours after nightfall.

READ MORE: Hamas claims at least 50 hostages killed in Israeli airstrikes

The Palestinian telecommunications provider, Paltel, said the bombardment caused "complete disruption" of internet, cellular and landline services.

The cutoff meant that casualties from strikes and details of ground incursions could not immediately be known. Some satellite phones continued to function.

Already plunged into darkness after most electricity was cut off weeks ago, Palestinians were thrown into isolation, huddling in homes and shelters with food and water supplies running out.

Relatives outside Gaza panicked after their messaging chats with families inside suddenly went dead and calls stopped going through.

"I was so scared this was going to happen," said Wafaa Abdul Rahman, director of a feminist organisation based in the West Bank city of Ramallah. She said she hadn't heard for hours from family in central Gaza.

"We've been seeing these horrible things and massacres when it's live on TV, so now what will happen when there's a total blackout?" she said, referring to scenes of families that have been crushed in homes by airstrikes over the past weeks.

Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said ground forces were "expanding their activity" Friday evening in Gaza and "acting with great force… to achieve the objectives of the war."

Israel says its strikes target Hamas fighters and infrastructure and that the militants operate from among civilians, putting them in danger.

The Hamas media center reported heavy nighttime clashes with Israeli forces at several places, including what it said was an Israeli incursion east of Bureij.

Asked about the report, the Israeli military reiterated early Saturday that it had been carrying out targeted raids and expanding strikes with the aim of "preparing the ground for future stages of the operation."

Israel has amassed hundreds of thousands of troops along the border ahead of an expected ground offensive.

Earlier Friday the military said ground forces conducted their second hours-long incursion inside Gaza in as many days, striking dozens of militant targets over the past 24 hours.

READ MORE: Israeli troops briefly enter Gaza as wider ground incursion looms

The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has soared past 7300, more than 60 per cent of them minors and women, according to the territory's Health Ministry.

A blockade on Gaza has meant dwindling supplies, and the UN warned that its aid operation helping hundreds of thousands of people was "crumbling" amid near-depleted fuel.

More than 1400 people were slain in Israel during Hamas' October 7 attack, according to the Israeli government, and at least 229 hostages were taken into Gaza.

Palestinian militants have fired thousands of rockets into Israel, including one that hit a residential building in Tel Aviv on Friday, wounding four people.

The overall number of deaths far exceeds the combined toll of all four previous Israel-Hamas wars, estimated at around 4000.

Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel expects a long and difficult ground offensive into Gaza soon.

It "will take a long time" to dismantle Hamas' vast network of tunnels, he said, adding that he expects a lengthy phase of lower-intensity fighting as Israel destroys "pockets of resistance."

His comments pointed to a potentially grueling and open-ended new phase of the war after three weeks of relentless bombardment.

Israel has said it aims to crush Hamas' rule in Gaza and its ability to threaten Israel.

But how Hamas' defeat will be measured and an invasion's endgame remain unclear. Israel says it does not intend to rule the tiny territory but not who it expects to govern — even as Gallant suggested a long-term insurgency could ensue.

In Washington, the Pentagon said US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Gallant on Friday and "underscored the importance of protecting civilians during the Israel Defence Forces' operations and focusing on the urgency of humanitarian aid delivery for civilians in Gaza."

The Pentagon said Austin also brought up "the need for Hamas to release all of the hostages."

The conflict has threatened to ignite a wider war across the region.

Arab nations — including US allies and ones that have reached peace deals or normalised ties with Israel — have raised increasing alarm over a potential ground invasion, likely to bring even higher casualties amid urban fighting.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned on X that the "outcome will be a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions for years to come."

With no electricity, no communications and no water, many of those trapped in Gaza had little choice but to wait in their homes or seek the relative safety of schools and hospitals as Israel expanded its bombing early on Saturday.

Throughout the night, orange fireballs exploded on the horizon above the apartment buildings and refugee camps of Gaza City, briefly illuminating clouds of white smoke hanging in the air from previous strikes.

Some bombs hit in tight groups, apparently slamming into the same location.

Lynn Hastings, UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied territories, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that without phone lines and internet, hospitals and aid operations would be unable to operate.

The Red Crescent said it could not contact medical teams and residents could no longer call ambulances, meaning rescuers would have to chase the sound of explosions to find the wounded.

International aid groups said they were only able to reach a few staffers using satellite phones.

The Committee to Protect Journalists expressed alarm, saying the world "is losing a window into the reality" of the conflict.

It warned that the information vacuum "can be filled with deadly propaganda, dis- and misinformation."

The loss of internet and phones deals a further blow to a medical and aid system that relief workers say was already on the verge of collapse.

More than 1.4 million people have fled their homes, nearly half crowding into UN schools and shelters.

Aid workers say a trickle of aid Israel has allowed to enter from Egypt the past week is a tiny fraction of what is needed.

Gaza hospitals have been scrounging for fuel to run emergency generators that power incubators and other life-saving equipment.

READ MORE: 'Time we teach them a lesson': Israel-UN spat intensifies

Gallant said Israel believes that Hamas would confiscate any fuel that enters. He said Hamas uses generators to pump air into its hundreds of kilometers of tunnels, which originate in civilian areas.

He showed reporters aerial footage of what he said was a tunnel shaft built right next to a hospital.

"For air, they need oil. For oil, they need us," he said.

Late Friday the army released photos showing what it said were Hamas installations in and around Gaza City's Shifa Hospital, Gaza's largest.

Israel has made such claims before, but declined to say how the photos were obtained.

Little is known about Hamas' tunnels and other infrastructure. Claims by the military and Gallant couldn't be verified.

Speaking at Shifa Hospital, Hamas media chief Salama Maroof called Israel's claims "lies" and said they were "a precursor for striking this facility."

"I ring the alarm bell. There is imminent danger hovering above the medical facility," Maroof said.

The hospital has been overwhelmed and around 40,000 displaced residents have crowded its grounds for shelter, the UN says.

Asked if Israel plans to target Shifa, Hagari said, "We will not be able to allow terror activity against Israel from hospitals."

Hundreds of thousands of people remain in northern Gaza.

One neighbour evacuated his family and neighbours on the other side.

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