Displaced Palestinians from the eastern part of Khan Yunis prepare to cook at a temporary camp set up on the grounds of a cemetery in the western part of the city, in the southern Gaza Strip, on 26 July 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. (Bashar Taleb/AFP)
- The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders in
southern Gaza’s Khan Yunis. - Heavy fighting in
Khan Yunis has resulted in numerous casualties, with a recent Israeli operation
killing 70 and wounding over 200, according to Gaza’s health ministry. - The UN reported significant displacement and worsened
humanitarian conditions.
The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for
residents of southern Gaza’s Khan Yunis city on Saturday, after retrieving the
bodies of five Israelis and warning of new operations.
The United Nations said more than 180 000 Palestinians have
already fled fierce fighting in Khan Yunis since the military began an
operation in the area last Monday.
The evacuation orders and “intensified
hostilities” have “significantly destabilised aid operations”,
the UN said, reporting “dire water, hygiene and sanitation
conditions” in the Palestinian territory.
After Israel warned its forces would “forcefully
operate” in the Khan Yunis region, including an area previously declared a
safe humanitarian zone, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Monday
that an Israeli operation in Khan Yunis killed 70 people and wounded more than
200.
The military said at the time that it would act to stop
rocket fire coming towards Israel from the area, which had already seen heavy
fighting early in the year.
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On Wednesday, the military said forces carried out a rescue
operation in Khan Yunis and retrieved the bodies of five Israelis.
They had been killed during the 7 October attack on Israel
by Hamas militants, and their bodies taken back to Gaza, the military said.
On Saturday, it ordered residents from more parts of Khan
Yunis “to temporarily evacuate to the adjusted humanitarian area in
Al-Mawasi” – the second such adjustment made to the safe zone within a
week.
Witnesses and rescuers said heavy battles continued around
eastern Khan Yunis on Friday, and medics at the city’s Nasser Hospital reported
at least 16 bodies brought to the facility from different parts of the southern
governorate.
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The war in Gaza began after Hamas militants attacked
southern Israel on 7 October, resulting in the deaths of 1 197 people, mostly
civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Militants also seized 251 hostages during the attack, 111 of
whom are still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign in Gaza has killed at
least 39 175 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not
provide details of civilian and militant deaths.
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