Israel pounds southern Gaza as Palestinians flee on foot
Israel intensifies strikes in southern Gaza after issuing evacuation orders that affected hundreds of thousands of people.
A hospital official in the city reported that eight people were killed and over 30 others were injured due to shelling. / Photo: Reuters
Israeli forces have carried out deadly strikes on southern Gaza after issuing an evacuation order which a UN agency said would impact 250,000 Palestinians.
Witnesses reported intense bombing and shelling around Khan Younis on Tuesday, southern Gaza's main city, from which Israeli troops withdrew in early April after a devastating months-long battle.
A hospital source in the city said shelling killed eight people and wounded more than 30 others.
The bombardment came after a rocket barrage at southern Israel on Monday morning claimed by the Islamic Jihad, which has fought alongside Hamas.
This was followed by an order to evacuate most areas east of Khan Younis and in Rafah along the borders with Israel and Egypt.
Witnesses reported that some displaced individuals, lacking shelter, were forced to sleep on the streets. / Photo: AFP
An AFP photographer saw Palestinians leave eastern Khan Younis on foot, in cars and on horse or donkey carts, carrying their belongings with them.
Some displaced people with nowhere to go were sleeping on the streets, witnesses said.
Ahmad Najjar, a resident of the town of Bani Suhaila, said the Israeli evacuation order had caused "a large displacement of residents" and spurred "fear and extreme anxiety".
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees estimates that "around 250,000 people have been impacted by these orders", said UNRWA spokeswoman Louise Wateridge.
"We expect that almost all of these people will move from this area," she said.
Six consecutive days of intense battles followed a similar evacuation order issued last week for the Gaza City district of Shujaiya.
An AFP correspondent reported artillery shelling in the northern area on Tuesday, and witnesses said gun battles raged on.
The military said its forces were operating in Shujaiya, central Gaza and Rafah, where aircraft carried out strikes and troops "ambushed an armed terrorist squad" in a car and killed them.
Strikes a 'daily routine'
Over the past day, the Israeli air strikes intensified.
In central Gaza, witnesses said strikes hit the Nuseirat refugee camp where the Palestini an Red Crescent reported at least one dead, a child.
Mohamed al Jalees, displaced from Shujaiya to Nuseirat, helped clear the rubble and search for survivors.
"A missile struck our neighbours' house," he told AFP. "We rushed to check on them, and some were rescued alive (but) we found a martyred child."
"I have been displaced here for nine months... This is our daily routine."
Other parts of the besieged Gaza were reeling from continued fighting nearly nine months into the war.
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.