Israel Tells Gazans To Evacuate Southern Khan Younis As War Against Hamas Escalates

The Israeli military on Saturday instructed Gazans to temporarily evacuate the southern neighborhoods of the Khan Younis region to facilitate “forceful operations” there. Residents were advised to relocate to a humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi.

“Due to significant terrorist activity and rocket fire toward the State of Israel from the southern area of Khan Yunis, remaining in this area has become dangerous. Accordingly, at this time, the area will be adjusted. The adjustment is being carried out in accordance with precise intelligence indicating that Hamas has embedded terrorist infrastructure in the area defined as a Humanitarian Area,” the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

Evacuate Khan Yunis

“The early warning to civilians is being made in order to mitigate harm to the civilian population and keep civilians away from areas of combat. The IDF is about to forcefully operate against the terrorist organizations and therefore calls on the remaining population left in the southern neighborhoods of Khan Yunis to temporarily evacuate to the adjusted Humanitarian Area in Al-Mawasi,” it added.

Around 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led raid on southern Israel. The fighting, more than nine months since the start of Israel’s invasion of Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack, underlined the difficulty the IDF has in eliminating fighters of the militant Islamist group.

On Friday the military said troops battled Palestinian fighters in Khan Younis, a city in the south of the enclave, and destroyed tunnels and other infrastructure, as they sought to suppress small militant units that have continued to hit troops with mortar fire.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes in the enclave, according to Gaza health authorities, who do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants. Israeli officials estimate that some 14,000 fighters from militant groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have been killed or taken prisoner, out of a force they estimated to number more than 25,000 at the start of the war.

The military said on Saturday its calls to evacuate were communicated to the population via several mediums in order to mitigate danger to civilians.

UN and humanitarian officials accuse Israel of using disproportionate force in the war, which it denies. Israel’s military blames Hamas for putting civilians in harms way, accusing it of operating within densely populated neighbourhoods.

(With agency inputs)