Palestinians from eastern districts of Khan Younis in Gaza have been fleeing the following evacuation orders issued by Israel.
Witnesses reported numerous Israeli airstrikes in and around Khan Younis, resulting in eight deaths and more than 30 injuries according to medical sources and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
Patients and medical staff are leaving European Gaza Hospital after directives from Gaza’s health ministry, although Israel has not issued evacuation orders for the hospital itself.
The Red Cross has assisted in transferring patients to another medical facility.
Louise Wateridge from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza expressed concern over where displaced people can go, especially after previous military operations left their homes severely damaged.
“In this area, people were already forced to survive in severely damaged, destroyed, structurally unsafe buildings after the Rafah military operation,” she said.
The Israeli military responded to around 20 projectiles launched from Khan Yunis towards Israel by striking terror targets, including weapons storage facilities and operational centres.
“Overnight, the IDF struck terror targets in the area from which the projectiles were fired, including a weapons storage facility, operational centres and additional terrorist infrastructure sites,” it continued.
The IDF said Hamas was continuing to “systematically violate international law while using civilian infrastructure and the civilian population as human shields”.
Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the attack on Monday, the largest barrage from Gaza into Israel in months.
Khan Younis suffered significant destruction earlier this year during an Israeli offensive against Hamas, forcing many residents to temporarily relocate to Rafah.
Now, due to fears of a new major assault, many residents are once again fleeing their homes.
Nancy Mbamalu
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