Tens of thousands forced to flee again as Israel expands Gaza offensive
Al Jazeera
Israel intensifies air and ground offensive in central Gaza forcing displaced Palestinians to flee again towards south.
Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza have been forced to flee again towards the south after Israel intensified assaults in the centre of the besieged enclave killing more than 180 people in the past 24 hours.
The Israeli army on Friday said in a post on X that it was “expanding the operation in the Khan Younis area” of Gaza, previously sheltering hundreds of thousands of people displaced from the north – initially the focus of Israel’s ground assault.
Israeli shelling near El Amal hospital in Khan Younis killed 41 people over the past two days, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said on Thursday, adding that the casualties in repeated Israeli attacks near the facility include “displaced persons seeking shelter”.
The UN humanitarian office said an estimated 100,000 more displaced people had arrived in the already-teeming southern border city of Rafah in recent days following the intensification of fighting around both Deir el-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis to its south.
Earlier this week, Israeli forces ordered Palestinians out of the crowded central districts of Bureij, Maghazi and Nuseirat, as tanks advanced from the north and east.
