Gaza:

Gaza’s civil defence agency said Saturday that Israel’s military operation around Khan Yunis has killed about 170 people and wounded hundreds since it started on Monday.

“Since the beginning of the Israeli military operation in the Khan Yunis area, we are talking of approximately 170 martyrs and hundreds of wounded,” agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.

He said many people had been displaced again on Saturday as the Israeli operation continued.

“The questions is where will these residents go?” Basal said.

“Anyone who sees the situation in Khan Yunis will witness thousands of people spread out on the ground, on the roads, in areas that unfortunately are not suitable for living.

“With no other options available, they are exposing themselves to death.”

Earlier on Saturday the military issued new evacuation orders for residents of the southern city, after retrieving the bodies of five Israelis and warning of new operations.

The United Nations said more than 180,000 Palestinians have fled Khan Yunis since the Israeli operation began on Monday.

The evacuation orders and “intensified hostilities” have “significantly destabilised aid operations”, it added, reporting “dire water, hygiene and sanitation conditions” across the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli military said it launched the operation to halt rocket fire from the area, which already saw heavy fighting earlier this year.

On Wednesday, it said troops had retrieved the bodies of five Israelis from the area.

They had been killed during the Hamas attacks of October 7 and their bodies taken back to Gaza, the military said.

On Saturday, it ordered residents from more parts of Khan Yunis “to temporarily evacuate to the adjusted humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi” — the second such adjustment made to the safe zone within a week.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Palestinians shelter in a tent camp which was recently attacked in Israeli strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip on July 18, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The Israeli military on July 22 called on Gazans to clear out of the eastern parts of the city Khan Younis, saying it was preparing to “forcefully operate” against renewed rocket fire and militant activity from the area, which it had designated as a humanitarian zone.

Also read: Israeli strikes in southern, central Gaza kill more than 60 Palestinians, including in ’safe zone’

To allow this, the military said it was adjusting the borders of a humanitarian zone in order to keep the civilian population away from areas of combat.