Israeli tank bombardments and airstrikes killed at least 39 Palestinians near Khan Younis after residents were ordered to leave some neighborhoods in the area.
The Israeli army on Monday justified a new forced displacement of Palestinians by what it called new attacks from these areas.
To facilitate the evacuations, the army said it was adjusting the boundaries of a humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, to keep the civilian population away from areas of fighting with Hamas-led Palestinian fighters.
Palestinians, the United Nations and international aid groups have said there is no longer any safe place in Gaza. In early July, dozens of Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the al-Mawasi area, designated as a humanitarian zone.
Health officials at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis urged residents to donate blood due to the large number of injured people rushed to the medical center.
The Palestinian Emergency Civil Service said it received reports of dozens of people killed by Israeli airstrikes and tanks in the eastern suburb of Khan Younis, but teams were unable to reach them due to the intensity of the shelling.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army carried out airstrikes on two houses in the Bureij and Deir el-Balah areas in the central Gaza Strip, injuring several people, medics said.
Another airstrike in Gaza City, north of the densely populated enclave, killed two more Palestinians, they added.
Ceasefire efforts led by Qatar and Egypt, with US support, have so far failed due to Israel’s hard line. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has refused to accept a permanent ceasefire even if an agreement is signed. Hamas has demanded an end to the Israeli military operation as a condition for signing the agreement.
