Following Israel’s evacuation order, Khan Younis, the second largest city in the Gaza Strip, was targeted by multiple attacks this morning. Eight people were killed and more than 30 were injured and taken to Nasser Hospital, Palestinian Red Crescent health workers and a medical source at the hospital said. An AFP journalist and witnesses described a multitude of Israeli attacks both in southern Gaza and in Rafah. AFP images meanwhile showed displaced families fleeing through the ruins of Khan Younis, on foot or huddled in trailers.
After launching a ground offensive on October 27 in the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli army gradually moved south, ordering the evacuation of targeted areas. On May 7, it launched a ground operation in Rafah, billed at the time as the final phase of the war against the Islamist movement Hamas, forcing a million Palestinians to flee, according to the United Nations. But in recent weeks, fighting has intensified in several regions the army claimed to control, particularly in the north, while the offensive continues in Rafah.
In the north, Israeli soldiers continued yesterday operations launched on June 27 in Shujaiya, a neighborhood east of Gaza City. According to the Israel Defense Forces, “about 20 terrorists were eliminated there in dozens of air strikes” and “many were killed during the fighting.” The United Nations reports that between 60,000 and 80,000 people have fled east and northeast Gaza City in recent days.
Two Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers were killed in the Gaza Strip while fighting against Hamas: Sergeant Nadav Elchanan Knoller and Major Eyal Avnion, both reservists. A third reservist from the 12th Battalion was seriously injured.
“Our forces are operating in Rafah, Shujaiya, all over Gaza,” Netanyahu said Sunday. “It is a difficult fight that we are waging on the ground, sometimes hand-to-hand, and also clandestinely,” he added, referring to tunnels dug by Hamas since the Islamist movement took over Gaza in 2007.
The evacuation order covers the eastern half of Khan Younis and a large swath of the southeastern corner of the Gaza Strip. Before attacking, the Israeli army said a barrage of rockets from Gaza had been launched from Khan Younis. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the new evacuation order “proves once again that nowhere is safe in Gaza” for Palestinian civilians. “This is another stop in this deadly circular movement that the people of Gaza are subjected to on a regular basis,” he said in a statement calling for a ceasefire.
