The Israeli army has widened its attacks in southern and central Gaza, with some of the heaviest fighting of the war, with homes sheltering displaced Palestinians bombed, refugee camps hit and no safe place to evacuate thousands of people already on the move for weeks.
By Wednesday morning, “under intense aerial bombardment, Israeli tanks began to move deeper and deeper towards the center of the town of Khan Younis, coming from the eastern side,” reported Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud , reporting from Rafah, in southern Gaza, forcing hundreds of people to move. people to flee the region.
“Everyone thought that the eastern areas of Khan Younis were the main target, as the leaflets thrown at residents said, but it seems that the entire city of Khan Younis is currently under heavy bombardment,” Mahmoud said of leaflets dropped. by Israeli forces ordering residents to evacuate.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Alan Fisher said the Israeli army was preparing for days of intense battle in Khan Younis, which it considers a key Hamas stronghold where many leaders could be stationed.
However, the Israeli military must act cautiously because it believes many prisoners could also be there, Fisher said, reporting from occupied East Jerusalem.
“This is all part of a plan to move operations further south,” he said. “We will probably see the intense (Israeli army) operation extend over four or five weeks until mid-January. »
The coming days could bring some of the heaviest fighting of the two-month war, he added.
Mahmoud said that “after this point, the Palestinians have no possibility of going anywhere. The only option that might be feasible, or even possible, for the Palestinians is to go through Egypt, but with the current situation, that seems very, very difficult.”
“Under heavy bombardment, people were pushed back first to the central part (of Gaza), then to Khan Younis and now Rafah,” he reported, adding that “more than 1.5 million people were trapped in this heavily populated pocket of land.” with people”.
Incessant attacks also took place throughout the night on Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hind Khoudary, a native of the region, reported. She said there were “non-stop explosions, non-stop artillery bombardments and non-stop clashes. Several houses were bombed.”
“The number of injured people brought to hospital is enormous. Doctors and paramedics could not save them all,” Khoudary said, describing the intensity of the attacks and noting that “it is very dangerous for people to go north or south. At the same time, the conditions here are very harsh. There is no food in the markets. Even the little food that was once available is no longer available since the center was separated from the south.”
At least six people were killed and 14 others injured in an Israeli airstrike on the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. An Tel Aviv Tribune team at the scene of the attack reported on Wednesday that people were trapped under the rubble of an affected building.
As the injured were rushed to the few hospitals still functioning in the region, humanitarian organizations sounded the alarm: supplies were dangerously low.
The international medical charity Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, has warned that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah is running out of options.
“There are currently 700 patients admitted to the hospital, and new patients are constantly arriving,” said Marie-Aure Perreaut Revial, MSF emergency coordinator. “We lack essential supplies to care for them. »
At least 16,248 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the official death toll stands at around 1,200.
