CAIRO — Israeli tanks pushed into northern parts of the Khan Younis area in the south of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday (Dec 4) and Palestinian medics said further Israeli airstrikes had killed at least 47 people across the enclave.
Residents said tanks advanced one day after the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders, saying there had been rocket launches by Palestinian militants from the area.
With shells crashing near residential areas, families left their homes and headed westward toward the nearby humanitarian-designated area of Al-Mawasi. Palestinian and United Nations officials said there were no safe areas left in Gaza and most of its 2.3 million people have been displaced multiple times.
An Israeli airstrike at a tent encampment in al-Mawasi killed at least 17 people and wounded several, medics said. The Civil Emergency Service said the attack sparked fires in several tents housing displaced families.
The Israeli military said the strike targeted senior Hamas militants operating from the humanitarian zone in Khan Younis.
"Following the strike, secondary explosions were identified, suggesting the presence of weaponry in the area," it said in a statement.
Another Israeli airstrike hit three houses in Gaza City, killing at least 10 people and wounding many others, the territory's emergency service said. Many victims remained trapped under the rubble with rescue operations underway. There was no immediate army comment on this incident.
Medics said 11 people were killed in three airstrikes on areas in central Gaza, including six children and a medic. Five of the dead had been queueing outside a bakery, they said.
A further nine Palestinians were killed by tank fire in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, medics said.
Israeli forces also fired on Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahiya in north Gaza for the fifth straight day, hospital director Hussam Abu Safiya said. Three of his medical staff had been wounded, one critically, on Tuesday night, he said.
"Drones are dropping bombs filled with shrapnel that injure and anyone that dares to move," said Abu Safiya. "This situation is extremely urgent."
Residents in three towns — Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun — said Israeli forces had blown up dozens of houses.
Palestinians say Israel's army is trying to drive people out of the northern edge of Gaza with forced evacuations and bombardments to create a buffer zone. The Israeli army denies this and says it has returned to prevent Hamas fighters from regrouping in an area where it had previously cleared them out.
The army says militants frequently use residential buildings, schools and hospitals for operational cover. Hamas denies this, accusing Israeli forces of indiscriminate attacks.
Israel launched its offencive in the densely populated enclave after Hamas-led fighters attacked Israeli communities across the border on Oct 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking over 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's military campaign has since killed more than 44,400 Palestinians, injured many others, and reduced much of the enclave to rubble.
Israel agreed to a ceasefire with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah last week that halted fighting in a conflict that has unfolded in Lebanon in parallel with the Gaza war.
But the war in Gaza has ground on with only a single ceasefire more than a year ago that lasted for one week.
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