Israel intensifies bombardment in Gaza, driving civilians from their homes.
On Tuesday, Israel escalated its bombing campaign in and around Gaza’s second-largest city, Khan Younis, as ambulances and private cars rushed to local hospitals carrying people wounded in the latest phase of the conflict. Under pressure from the United States to prevent further mass casualties, Israel claims to be more precise as it widens its offensive into southern Gaza after obliterating much of the north. The aerial bombardment and ground offensive have already forced three-quarters of the territory’s 2.3 million people from their homes.
At the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, dozens of wounded people were brought in throughout the night. One man emerged from a car carrying a young boy in a bloody shirt, whose hand had been blown off. “What’s happening here is unimaginable,” said Hamza al-Bursh, who lives in the neighbourhood of Maan, one of several in and around the city where Israel has ordered civilians to leave. “They strike indiscriminately.”
Israel ordered the full-scale evacuation of northern Gaza in the early days of the war and has barred people who left from returning. In the south, it has ordered people out of nearly two dozen neighbourhoods in and around Khan Younis. That further reduced the area where civilians can seek refuge in central and southern Gaza by more than a quarter. Palestinians say that as Israel continues to strike across the besieged territory, there are no areas where they feel safe, and many fear that if they leave their homes, they will never be allowed to return.
Israel says it must dismantle Hamas’ extensive military infrastructure and remove it from power to prevent a repeat of the Oct. 7 attack that ignited the war. The surprise assault through the border fence saw Hamas and other Palestinian militants kill about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and capture some 240 men, women, and children. The military says it makes every effort to spare civilians and accuses Hamas of using them.