Israel orders residents of Gaza’s Khan Younis to evacuate ahead of offensive

The army earlier sent audio messages to residents telling them to leave before posting a message in Arabic repeating the warning on social media.

It said the area has become a “dangerous combat zone” and urged people to leave towards areas known as “humanitarian zones” in the western part of the city, known as the Al-Mawasi area.

The area ordered to be evacuated also includes the Gaza European hospital, which is one of the few hospitals operating in the Gaza Strip.

Earlier, the Islamic Jihad group announced it fired a barrage of rockets from the Khan Younis area towards Israeli areas bordering Gaza. The Israeli army did not report any casualties or material damage from the incident, however.

Palestinian resistance groups announced in separate statements during the day that their fighters were engaged in fighting and clashes with the Israeli army, particularly in the Shejaiya neighborhood of eastern Gaza City and Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

At least 37,900 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and around 87,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Over eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Human rights organizations have warned that thousands of people in the besieged enclave are facing the risk of famine amid ongoing Israeli devastating onslaught.