Israel-Gaza conflict: Israeli troops advancing into southern Gaza
Israeli military units are making their way into the southern part of Gaza, following three days of intense artillery fire.
Early bulletins from the Israeli military radio essentially verified that Israel has initiated a land-based mission north of Khan Younis.
The BBC has further confirmed the presence of an Israeli tank in the vicinity of the city.
The leader of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) subsequently informed the soldiers that the IDF was also battling "vigorously and meticulously" in southern Gaza.
Lt General Herzi Halevi was addressing the reserve forces from the Gaza division regarding military goals and the IDF's elimination of Hamas leaders.
He informed the troops, "We battled fiercely and rigorously in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, and we are currently doing the same in its southern region."
A spokesperson for the IDF later verified that Israel is "persistently broadening their land invasion" throughout the entirety of Gaza, which involves soldiers "engaging in direct combat with terrorists".
A week-long truce came to an end on Friday, after which Israel recommenced widespread bombardment on Gaza. The inhabitants of Khan Younis have characterized this as the most intense round of strikes yet.
Hamas let go of 110 hostages in Gaza during a week-long ceasefire, in exchange for the freedom of 240 Palestinians from Israeli jails.
The Israeli military gave immediate evacuation directives for various sectors of Khan Younis on Sunday morning, strongly advising residents to depart right away.
Israel's officials suspect that key figures from Hamas are seeking refuge in the city, which has become a safe haven for hundreds of thousands who escaped the initial battles in the north during the onset of the conflict.
A representative from the United Nations has expressed unprecedented levels of alarm witnessed at a hospital in Gaza, following the redirection of the Israeli military's attack towards the southern region.
James Elder, a representative of the children's organization Unicef, likened Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Younis to a "battlefield".
A consultant to the Prime Minister of Israel asserted that the nation is putting forth its utmost efforts to prevent civilian casualties.
Mr. Elder informed the BBC that he constantly heard huge blasts near the Nasser hospital. He also mentioned that children were being brought in with injuries to the head, severe burns, and fragments from recent explosions.
I frequently visit this hospital and now the kids and their families recognize me. The very same individuals are now clutching my hand or tugging at my clothes, pleading for me to lead them to safety. But where is safe?
Regrettably, they're posing a question that can only be answered with 'there is no safe place'. This also applies to them, as they're aware, including that hospital," he stated.
The health department in Gaza, managed by Hamas, reports that the death toll has surpassed 500 since the recommencement of bombings.
The ministry also reported that over 15,500 individuals have lost their lives in the strip since the onset of the war.
Mohammed Ghalayini, a UK-Palestinian resident of Gaza, described the city's conditions as "worse than a catastrophe".
For over 50 days now, individuals have been enduring harsh attacks from Israel and are severely depleted of necessities such as food, water, electricity, as well as sanitation and waste management services. This information was relayed via a phone call to the BBC, which was abruptly disconnected.
The specialist in air pollution, usually residing in Manchester, reached Gaza to spend three months with his mother just prior to the assaults on October 7.
Israel commenced its counteractive airstrikes on Gaza in response to the assaults by Hamas on southern Israel on October 7. The attacks resulted in approximately 1,200 fatalities and 240 individuals held captive.
Since the conflict restarted on Friday, rockets have consistently been launched at Israel from Gaza. A young man, 22, living in Holon, close to Tel Aviv, received medical attention for minor injuries from shrapnel on Saturday.
A massive number of individuals, in the hundreds of thousands, have evacuated the conflict zone to seek refuge in Khan Younis, following Israel's directive to vacate the northern part of the strip.
The most recent report from the UN states that approximately 1.8 million individuals have been forced to relocate within Gaza.
In an interview with the BBC, Filippo Grandi, the head of human rights for the UN, expressed his concern that Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are increasingly being squeezed into an ever-decreasing area of an already small territory.
The Israeli Defense Forces have started sharing online maps indicating regions slated for assault. They assert that these maps, in conjunction with other tactics such as phone alerts and airdropped pamphlets over Gaza, will serve as a sufficient warning for civilians to vacate the area.
In a conversation with Laura Kuenssberg on BBC's Sunday programme, Mark Regev, a top adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that civilians are not being targeted. He further explained that safeguarding them becomes challenging due to Hamas positioning its military terror apparatus within civilian areas.
He states that the IDF is attempting to be "as precise as possible in a challenging combat scenario", and has provided prior notice of assaults.
The IDF has separately reported that they have successfully demolished 500 "terror tunnel" entrances utilized by Hamas in Gaza, from the 800 they claim to have discovered to date.
The report also mentioned that approximately 10,000 aerial attacks on "targets associated with terrorism" have been executed by the air force, guided by IDF ground forces, since the onset of the war.
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