Israel intensifies Gaza strikes following Khan Younes evacuation order

Israeli forces conducted deadly strikes on southern Gaza on Tuesday, clashing with militants after the army reiterated orders for Palestinians to vacate areas near the borders with Israel and Egypt.

Witnesses reported heavy bombing and shelling around Khan Yunis, the main city in southern Gaza, from which Israeli forces withdrew in early April following a devastating months-long battle. A hospital source in the city reported that the shelling killed eight people and wounded over 30 others.

The bombardment followed a rocket attack on southern Israel, claimed by the militant group Islamic Jihad, which has been fighting alongside Hamas. This led to an order to evacuate areas east of Khan Yunis and Rafah, including the towns of Al-Qarara and Bani Suhaila. Ahmad Najjar, a resident of Bani Suhaila, described the Israeli order as causing “fear and extreme anxiety” and noted a large displacement of residents.

Six consecutive days of intense battles followed a similar evacuation order issued last week for the Shujaiya district in Gaza City. An AFP correspondent reported artillery shelling in the northern area on Tuesday, with witnesses describing ongoing gun battles.

The Israeli military reported operations in Shujaiya, central Gaza, and Rafah, where airstrikes were conducted and troops “ambushed an armed terrorist squad” in a car, killing them. Over the past day, the Israeli air force “struck approximately 30 terror targets” across Gaza, according to a military statement. In Shujaiya, Palestinian militants were “eliminated,” and dozens of terrorist infrastructure sites, including tunnel shafts, were dismantled.

In central Gaza, witnesses reported strikes on the Nuseirat refugee camp, where the Palestinian Red Crescent reported at least one death, a child.

Other parts of Gaza continue to suffer from ongoing conflict nearly nine months into the war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel. Talks toward a truce and hostage release deal have made little progress, despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently declaring that the “intense phase” of the war was winding down.

“We’ve heard the Israelis talk about a significant downshift in their operations in Gaza,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday. “It remains to be seen.”

The latest evacuation order for parts of southern Gaza follows an earlier evacuation of Rafah, which signaled the start of a long-feared Israeli ground offensive. The fighting since has displaced many Palestinians and closed a key aid crossing.

The United Nations and relief agencies have expressed alarm over the dire humanitarian crisis and the threat of starvation facing Gaza’s 2.4 million people. Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel reportedly resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. Palestinian militants also seized 251 captives, with 116 still in Gaza, including 42 whom the Israeli army says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive aimed at eradicating Palestinian militants in Gaza has killed at least 37,900 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the territory.

On Monday, Israeli authorities released Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the director of Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital—the largest medical complex in the territory—along with dozens of other detainees returned to Gaza for treatment. After his release, Abu Salmiya reported “severe torture” during detention and claimed that several inmates died in interrogation centers due to deprivation of food and medicine.

Israel has accused Hamas of using Al-Shifa and other hospitals for military operations, claims that Gaza militants have denied. Netanyahu criticized the release of Abu Salmiya, stating it was made without his knowledge and calling it a “serious mistake and a moral failure,” as the hospital director allegedly oversaw where Israeli hostages were held and killed.

In Tel Aviv on Monday, thousands attended an event calling for an end to the war and a better future for Israelis and Palestinians. Israeli historian and author Yuval Noah Harari remarked, “We have already tried to make peace, and we weren’t good at it. So what? We aren’t that successful at making war either, and that doesn’t stop us from trying… It’s time to try peace again.”