Israel intensifies offensive against Hamas in southern Gaza

Residents and journalists on the ground reported that on Monday, intense Israeli airstrikes struck the southern part of the Gaza Strip, killing and injuring hundreds of Palestinians, including in locations where Israel had ordered civilians to seek shelter.

After taking much of the now-devastated north, Israeli tanks and troops continued their ground campaign against Hamas fighters in the southern part of the enclave.

Israel gave Palestinians orders early on Monday to evacuate some areas of Khan Younis, the major city in southern Gaza. However, locals claimed that the places they had been instructed to visit were also under attack.

About 25% of Khan Younis is highlighted in yellow on a map that the Israeli military shared on social media site X, designating areas that need to be evacuated.

There were three arrows pointing west and south, directing travellers to Rafah, a large town close to the Egyptian border, and the Mediterranean coast.

In Khan Younis, desperate Gazans gathered their possessions and made their way to Rafah. The majority were on foot, moving in a mournful and silent parade past abandoned buildings.

However, Thomas White, the director of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, claimed that residents of Rafah were being compelled to leave.

According to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA, an Israeli airstrike on two schools in Gaza City’s Daraj neighbourhood that were housing displaced Palestinians resulted in at least 50 fatalities.

It was not immediately feasible to independently verify the report or get a response from the Gaza Health Ministry. An Israeli army spokesman stated that the report was being investigated.

In a related development, the health ministry said that in eight weeks of fighting, Israeli bombardment of the Hamas-ruled enclave has killed at least 15,899 Palestinians, 70% of them women or children. There could be many more missing and buried under the debris.

Israel began its campaign to destroy Hamas in punishment for its gunmen’s cross-border attack on October 7. According to Israeli counts, they massacred 1,200 people and took 240 captives, making it the worst day in Israel’s 75-year history.

Israel charges that Hamas operates from residential areas, including tunnels that are only demolished by massive bombs, endangering residents. Hamas disputes that it does.

A large portion of the populous coastal strip in Gaza has been converted to a bleak wasteland by the Israeli bombing assault, forcing up to 80% of the 2.3 million residents to flee their homes.

Since a week-long truce ended on Friday, Israeli soldiers have rapidly advanced deep into the southern half of Gaza, having largely taken control of the northern half in November.

Residents claim that tanks have closed off the main north-south route by driving into Gaza from the border fence. According to the Israeli military, the main route north from Khan Younis “constitutes a battlefield” and was now shut.

(With agency inputs)