Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip witnessed difficult hours as a result of it being subjected to intense and unprecedented Israeli bombardment, which resulted in more than 160 martyrs and wounded, amid loud explosions and Israeli attempts to penetrate the western axis of the city, and fierce clashes waged by the resistance in the area.
At a time when the occupation army announced the expansion of its operations in Khan Yunis and spoke of 7 brigades operating underground and above ground, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said that it had committed a new crime against the displaced by bombing five shelter centers in the governorate, resulting in dozens of martyrs and wounded.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported that 60 martyrs and 100 wounded were killed in the continuous Israeli bombing of Khan Yunis since yesterday evening, Sunday. She pointed out that dozens of martyrs and wounded are still in the sites targeted by the occupation west of the city.
The ministry added that the Israeli occupation prevents the movement of ambulances to retrieve the martyrs and wounded.
Hospitals are full
The Ministry of Health also said that the occupation stormed Al-Khair Hospital, west of Khan Yunis, and detained medical staff, while Al-Jazeera’s correspondent reported continued clashes and Israeli bombing in the vicinity of Nasser Hospital in the center of the city.
The director of the Surgical Hospital at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis, Nahed Abu Ta’imah, said that the hospital is full of injured people in very critical conditions.
He added during an interview with Tel Aviv Tribune that the intensive care rooms are completely full and there is no place outside Khan Yunis Governorate to which the injured in the hospital can be transferred.
Abu Taima also said that the aid they received to the hospital covers only three percent of the needs, calling for coordination with the complex’s administration to provide it with the necessary supplies for the cases of the injured.
For its part, the Palestinian Red Crescent said that Israeli tanks are located near its headquarters in Khan Yunis, and confirmed that it has completely lost contact with its medical teams there.
Exhuming graves
Palestinian families in the city of Khan Yunis were forced to bury their martyred relatives in hospital courtyards due to the continuous Israeli bombing and their inability to reach the city’s cemeteries.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s correspondent also confirmed that the occupation forces are exhuming graves in the Khan Yunis cemetery, after the occupation admitted yesterday that it had exhumed another cemetery in the city.
For days, Khan Yunis has witnessed an escalation in the intensity of battles between Israeli forces and Palestinian resistance factions, resulting in widespread destruction in the city, including the exhuming of Palestinian graves under the pretext of searching for the bodies of Israeli detainees.
Fierce clashes
On the ground, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of the Hamas movement, announced that it had targeted an Israeli Merkava tank and an occupation force west of Khan Yunis, which led to its members being killed or wounded.
The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the “Islamic Jihad” movement, also said that it was engaged in fierce clashes with the occupation forces in the same governorate.
On the other hand, Israeli Radio said that the army deepened and expanded its operations in Khan Yunis, adding that 7 brigades are active underground (in reference to their pursuit of resistance tunnels) and above them in the city.
The Battle of Khan Yunis is approaching its third month without the Israeli army being able to tighten its control over the governorate, which the occupation army commanders see as the most important militarily center for the resistance.
Displaced people are a target
For his part, Tel Aviv Tribune’s correspondent confirmed that the Palestinian resistance is clashing with the occupation forces, amid heavy gunfire being heard in the vicinity of the university in Khan Yunis, while citizens are trying to flee to Rafah despite the danger of the road.
Local sources reported that the Israeli army blew up dozens of homes in the areas of Qaizan Rashwan and the Qaa al-Qurain neighborhood, south of Khan Yunis, amid violent clashes in those areas between Israeli forces and the resistance.
Palestinian media also said that Israeli occupation aircraft fired intermittently in the eastern areas located between the Khan Yunis and Rafah governorates in the southern Gaza Strip.
Al-Aqsa satellite channel reported that a Quadcopter aircraft last night opened fire on residents in several areas in Khan Yunis, most notably the Al-Nawasi area and the vicinity of Nasser Medical Complex, and on the displaced people at Al-Aqsa University.
The government media office in Gaza said that the occupation forces targeted 30,000 displaced people in 5 shelters in Khan Yunis.
Hamas warns
Hamas said that the occupation army committed a new crime against the displaced people in Khan Yunis, by directly and deliberately targeting five shelter centers, with various types of weapons, which led to dozens of martyrs and wounded.
Hamas added in a statement that the Israeli army had called on citizens to seek refuge in these centers and claimed that they were safe, before committing this heinous massacre there. The movement held the United Nations and the international community responsible for the continuation of horrific crimes against civilians.
It also called on all of the countries it called free and loyal to the values of justice and freedom, to take action to prosecute the leaders of the occupation before international courts, and hold them accountable for their crimes against the Palestinian people and humanity as a whole.
Since last October 7, the occupation has launched an aggression against the Gaza Strip, leaving to date 25,295 martyrs and 63,000 injured, in addition to massive destruction in residential neighborhoods, vital facilities, and hospitals, and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.