Southern Gaza: Israel Orders People Out Of Khan Younis

Israel ordered people out of swathes of the main Southern city in the Gaza Strip on Monday as it pressed its ground campaign deep into the South, sending desperate residents fleeing even as bombs fell on areas still described as safe.

Israel’s military posted a map on X on Monday morning with around a quarter of the city of Khan Younis marked off in yellow as territory that must be evacuated at once. Three arrows pointed South and West, telling people to head further towards the Mediterranean sea and the Egyptian border.

Many of those taking flight were already displaced from other areas, many sleeping rough under makeshift shelters with their few remaining belongings in plastic bags.

Abu Mohammed told Reuters it was now the third time he had been forced to flee since abandoning his home in Gaza City in the North.

“Last night Israeli tanks shelled from the east, and the north, and the west too from (naval ships in) the direction of the sea, rings of fire around us, and the house kept shaking and covered in red light from the explosions, causing panic and horror for the adults and the children alike,” he said.

“Why did they eject us from our homes in Gaza (City) if they planned to kill us here?”

“We were sleeping at 5:00 am when we felt things collapse, everything went upside down,” she said. “They told (people) to move from the north to Khan Younis, since the south is safer. And now, they’ve bombed Khan Younis. Even Khan Younis is not safe now, and even if we move to Rafah, Rafah is not safe as well. Where do they want us to go?”

As many as 80 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have fled their homes in an Israeli bombing campaign that has reduced much of the crowded coastal strip to a desolate wasteland. Medical officials in the enclave say bombing has killed more than 15,500 people, with thousands more missing and feared buried in rubble.

REUTERS