Israeli forces intensified their attacks on the southern Gaza city, where fierce clashes erupted with Hamas militants, amid rising casualties and humanitarian crisis.
Fierce Israeli tank fire and aerial bombing struck Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip on Friday night, residents said, after nearly 200 people were reported killed in 24 hours in Israel’s campaign against Hamas militants.
The sound of shooting indicated fighting between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters in Khan Yunis, some residents said. Planes also carried out a series of air strikes on the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, according to medics and Palestinian journalists.
Israeli forces have been pounding Khan Yunis in preparation for an anticipated further advance into the main southern city, swathes of which they captured in early December.
The Israeli military said that it targeted “terrorist infrastructure and operatives” in Khan Yunis, as part of its ongoing operation to stop the rocket fire from Hamas and other militant groups in the strip. The military also said that it warned civilians to evacuate the areas before the strikes, using phone calls, text messages, and leaflets.
However, Palestinian health officials and witnesses said that the Israeli attacks killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 100, many of them women and children. They also said that the Israeli warnings were either too vague, too late, or too dangerous to follow, as many roads and bridges were destroyed or blocked by the Israeli forces.
“They are killing us, they are destroying us, they are not giving us any chance to escape or to survive,” said Fatima Al-Najjar, a 45-year-old mother of six, who lives in Khan Yunis. She said that she received a phone call from the Israeli military on Friday night, telling her to leave her house within 10 minutes. She said that she grabbed her children and ran to a nearby mosque, where she hoped to find shelter. But as she was running, she said that she saw a tank shell hit her house, reducing it to rubble.
“I lost everything. My home, my belongings, my memories. I don’t know if I will ever be able to rebuild it,” she said.
Al-Najjar said that she and her family spent the night at the mosque, along with hundreds of other displaced people, but they did not feel safe there either. She said that the mosque had no electricity, no water, no food, and no medical supplies. She also said that she heard explosions and gunfire throughout the night, and that she feared that the mosque could be attacked at any moment.
“We are living in a nightmare. We don’t know if we will survive the next day. We don’t know if we will ever see peace and justice,” she said.
The Israeli attacks on Khan Yunis have raised concerns and criticism from human rights groups and international organizations, who have accused Israel of violating the laws of war and endangering the lives of civilians.
Massive Abuse of Human rights
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 1.8 million Palestinians have been displaced by the Israeli offensive, which began on October 7, in response to a massive attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,500 Israeli civilians. OCHA said that more than 80% of the displaced people are staying with host families, while the rest are sheltering in UN-run schools, mosques, churches, and other public buildings.
The war in Gaza, which has entered its 90th day, has claimed the lives of more than 20,000 Palestinians and 2000 Israelis, according to the latest figures from the Palestinian health ministry and the IDF. The war has also caused widespread destruction and damage to the infrastructure and facilities in Gaza, as well as in Israel. The war has also sparked protests and clashes in the West Bank, Jerusalem, and inside Israel, as well as in other countries and regions. The war has also stalled and complicated the diplomatic efforts to end the violence and to resume the peace talks between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
