Hundreds of Palestinians fled the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis after Israeli forces advanced deeper into the area.
The Israeli military said its ground forces “surrounded” the city earlier this week after 24 of its soldiers were killed in the enclave, the highest single-day death toll since October 7.
Khan Younis has been designated by the Israeli military as a so-called “safe zone” for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians 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 more displacement. Israeli forces targeted hospitals, ambulances and schools where thousands of civilians were sheltering.
Gaza’s health ministry has warned that Nasser Hospital and Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis are now in “serious danger”.
At Nasser Hospital, shrapnel that penetrated the buildings threatened the lives of patients, medical staff and those housed there, he added.
On Tuesday, families again collected what was left of their belongings and fled to the south of Rafah governorate, an already overcrowded area where diseases are increasing due to the lack of clean water, food, medicine and other essential products.
The cold winter months and rainy season have compounded the misery of the 1.9 million displaced Palestinians. Many have had to move repeatedly in search of relative safety, the United Nations said.