Hundreds of Palestinians have fled the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis after Israeli forces advanced deeper into the area.
The Israeli military said its ground forces “encircled” the city earlier this week after 24 of its soldiers were killed in the enclave in the highest single-day death toll since October 7.
Khan Younis was designated by the Israeli military as the so-called “safe zone” for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were forced to leave their homes in northern Gaza and Gaza City.
However, repeated Israeli bombings and attacks in the south have led to widespread destruction and further displacement. Israeli forces attacked hospitals, ambulances and schools where thousands of civilians had taken refuge.
The Gaza Health Ministry has warned that Nasser Hospital and Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis are now in “serious danger.”
At Nasser Hospital, shrapnel that reached the interior of buildings has threatened the lives of patients, medical staff and people taking shelter there, he said.
On Tuesday, families once again gathered what was left of their belongings and fled to the southern governorate of Rafah, an already overcrowded area where disease is rampant amid a lack of clean water, food, medicine and other basic supplies.
The cold winter months and rainy season have worsened the misery of the 1.9 million displaced Palestinians. Many have had to move repeatedly in search of relative safety, according to the United Nations.
