Israel, overnight, expanded evacuation orders in Khan Younis, located in the southern Gaza Strip, forcing tens of thousands of Palestinian residents and displaced families to flee under the cover of darkness.
The evacuations occurred amid the backdrop of intense explosions from tank shelling, which reverberated throughout the area.
The Israeli military stated that the operation targeted militants from Hamas, the group that administered Gaza before the current conflict, who were reportedly using the area to launch attacks and fire rockets. The scale of the evacuation order, which covered central, eastern, and western districts of Khan Younis, marked one of the largest such orders in the 10-month-old conflict, coming just two days after Israeli tanks re-entered the city’s eastern regions.
The evacuation directive was disseminated through various channels, including posts on X (formerly Twitter) and direct text and audio messages to residents’ phones, urging them to move immediately to a newly established humanitarian zone. “For your own safety, you must evacuate immediately to the newly created humanitarian zone. The area you are in is considered a dangerous combat zone,” the message read.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), highlighted the dire situation facing those fleeing the violence. “Some are only able to carry their children with them, some carry their whole lives in one small bag. They are going to overcrowded places where shelters are already overflowing with families. They have lost everything and need everything,” he said.
The escalation follows a controversial Israeli airstrike on Saturday, which targeted a school in Gaza City where displaced Palestinians were sheltering. According to Gaza’s civil defence service, the attack resulted in the deaths of at least 90 people, sparking international outrage. The Israeli military claimed the strike targeted a Hamas and Islamic Jihad militant command post, a claim the two groups have rejected as a pretext, stating that 19 militants were killed.
In the latest developments, the Israeli army reported striking around 30 Hamas military targets within the previous 24 hours, including military structures, anti-tank missile launch sites, and weapons storage facilities. Meanwhile, the Islamic Jihad armed wing announced that fighters had fired mortar bombs at Israeli forces massing in the eastern regions of Khan Younis.
Later on Sunday, an Israeli airstrike near the Khan Younis market resulted in the deaths of four Palestinians and left several others injured, according to medical sources. Smoke was seen rising from various parts of the city as Israeli planes carried out attacks on multi-story buildings in both the eastern and western areas.
The ongoing conflict in Gaza, which has now entered its 10th month, continues to escalate, with both sides trading heavy blows and civilian casualties mounting.
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