GAZA CITY: The Israeli army has encircled Khan Younis in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, intensifying the ongoing violence in the Palestinian territory. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) reported that it has killed “most of the senior commanders” of Hamas.
The Israeli forces’ ground offensive, initiated on October 27 in northern Gaza, has expanded to cover the entire territory. Initially, Palestinian civilians were directed to evacuate southwards to avoid the conflict, but they are now under intense Israeli bombardments in this part of the besieged enclave.
The IDF’s ground operations have resulted in artillery fire causing casualties in various villages, with airstrikes reported in different locations, including the Nousseirat and Jabalia refugee camps.
Dire Situation in Gaza Amid Israeli Bombardments
The situation in Gaza remains dire, with hundreds of thousands of civilians fleeing southward, facing a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Despite daily warnings from the Israeli army to evacuate, finding safe shelters in the increasingly confined space near the closed border with Egypt has become a major challenge.
The United Nations emergency aid coordinator, Martin Griffiths, emphasized the lack of safe places in Gaza, stating, “No place is safe in Gaza. Not hospitals, not shelters, not refugee camps.” The World Food Program (WFP) highlighted the near impossibility of humanitarian aid distribution in Gaza, exacerbating the already critical food crisis.
Rafah is currently the only location where limited humanitarian aid can be distributed in Gaza, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Access to Khan Younis and areas further north has been cut off, posing significant challenges for aid distribution.
Amid the ongoing hostilities, approximately 1.9 million Palestinian people, constituting around 85% of the population, have been displaced in the Gaza Strip. The majority of homes in the region are either destroyed or damaged due to the Israeli airstrikes.
