Israel signals expansion of its ruthless onslaught in Gaza's south as well

Israeli forces have dropped leaflets warning Palestinians to flee parts of southern Gaza, residents said.

This signals a possible expansion of their offensive to areas where hundreds of thousands of people who heeded earlier evacuation orders are crowded into UN-run shelters and family homes.

Meanwhile, soldiers continued searching Al Shifa Hospital in the north, in a raid that began early on Wednesday. They displayed guns they say were found hidden in one building, but have yet to release any evidence of the central Hamas command centre that Israel has said is concealed beneath the complex.

Hamas and staff at the hospital, Gaza's largest, deny the allegations.

Broadening assaults to the south where Israel already carries out daily air raids threatens to worsen an already severe humanitarian crisis in the besieged territory.

Over 1.5 million people have been internally displaced in Gaza, with most having fled to the south, where food, water and electricity are increasingly scarce.

The conflict in Gaza, which has been under Israeli bombardment and a blockade since Oct. 7, began when the Palestinian resistance group Hamas initiated Operation Al Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea and air.

It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of Al Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.

More than 11,500 Palestinians have been killed, two-thirds of them women and minors, according to Palestinian health authorities. Another 2,700 have been reported missing, with most believed to be buried under the rubble.

The war has also inflamed tensions in occupied West Bank.

On Thursday, gunmen shot and wounded four people at a checkpoint on the main road linking Jerusalem to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. Police said three attackers were killed and a search for others was under way.

Warning to civilians

The leaflets, dropped in areas east of the southern town of Khan Younis, warned civilians to evacuate and said anyone in the vicinity of militants or their positions “is putting his life in danger.”

Two reporters who live east of Khan Younis confirmed seeing the leaflets. Others shared images of the leaflets on social media. The military declined to comment.

Similar leaflets were dropped over northern Gaza for weeks ahead of the ground invasion.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday the ground operation will eventually “include both the north and south. We will strike Hamas wherever it is.”

Even as Israel signals a wider offensive, it has yet to put forth a long-term plan, aside from saying it will maintain security control over Gaza indefinitely.

The US has urged Israel not to reoccupy the territory, from which it withdrew soldiers and settlers in 2005, and supports the eventual creation of a Palestinian state including Gaza and the occupied West Bank — also the long-held aspiration of the Palestinians. Israel’s government was staunchly opposed to Palestinian statehood even before the war.

The military said it has largely consolidated its control of the north, including seizing and demolishing government buildings. Video released by the army on Thursday showed soldiers moving between heavily damaged buildings through holes blown in their walls.

The military said it had blown up a residence belonging to Ismail Haniyeh, a senior Hamas leader based abroad. It was unclear if anyone was inside the building.

With most of Gaza’s 2.3 million people crowded into the territory's south, residents say bread is scarce and supermarket shelves are bare. Families cook on wood fires for lack of fuel. Central electricity and running water have been out for weeks.