Israel launched new airstrikes in southern Gaza on Tuesday, prompting hundreds of Palestinians to flee after the army reiterated its evacuation orders for several densely populated areas.
Eyewitnesses reported multiple airstrikes around Khan Yunis, resulting in eight fatalities and over 30 injuries, according to a medical source and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The strikes followed a rare rocket attack claimed by Islamic Jihad, an ally of Hamas, targeting Israeli communities near the Gaza border. The Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, stated the rockets were in retaliation for Israeli “crimes against our Palestinian people.”
The Israeli military identified around “20 projectiles crossing from the Khan Yunis area,” most of which were intercepted. No Israeli casualties were reported, and artillery targeted the sources of the rocket fire.
The strikes were preceded by an evacuation order on Monday for Al-Qarara, Bani Suhaila, and other towns in Rafah and Khan Yunis, nearly two months after an initial order to evacuate Rafah before a ground offensive. Over one million people had already been displaced to Gaza’s southernmost city prior to Israel’s ground incursion in Rafah.
“Fear and extreme anxiety have gripped people after the evacuation order,” said Ahmad Najjar, a resident of Bani Suhaila. “There is a large displacement of residents.”
In other parts of the Gaza Strip, intense fighting continued nearly nine months into the conflict. Israeli airstrikes were reported in the southern Rafah area and the central Nuseirat refugee camp, while heavy Israeli tank fire was reported in Gaza City’s Shujaiya district for the fifth consecutive day on Monday.
Israeli military operations in Shujaiya reportedly eliminated numerous terrorists and killed approximately 20 militants in airstrikes. The military also announced the death of a soldier in southern Gaza, raising the total toll of Israeli military casualties during the ground offensive to 317.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who recently indicated that the “intense phase” of the war was winding down, stated on Sunday that troops were operating across the Gaza Strip, including Rafah and Shujaiya. He described the conflict as a “difficult fight” being waged both above and below ground in tunnels.
The conflict began with Hamas’s October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. Militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, including 42 the army says are deceased.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has resulted in at least 37,900 deaths, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Efforts towards a truce and hostage release deal have made little progress, with Hamas stating on Saturday that there was “nothing new” in a revised plan presented by US mediators.
Amidst the ongoing conflict, Israeli authorities released Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital, and dozens of other detainees, sparking anger from Netanyahu. Successive Israeli raids have reduced large parts of Al-Shifa, Gaza’s largest medical complex, to rubble.
Abu Salmiya reported suffering “severe torture” during his detention since November, with detainees subjected to physical and psychological humiliation. Israel’s Shin Bet intelligence agency stated the release was decided to free up space in detention centers, although it opposed releasing terrorists who had participated in attacks on Israeli civilians.
The UN and relief agencies have raised alarms over the severe humanitarian crisis and potential starvation facing Gaza’s 2.4 million people due to the war and Israeli siege. The UN humanitarian agency OCHA reported that in June, Israeli authorities facilitated less than half of the 115 planned humanitarian assistance missions to northern Gaza.
In a displacement camp in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, pharmacist Sami Hamid noted a rise in skin infections among children due to hot weather and a lack of clean water, with increases in scabies, chickenpox, and hepatitis cases likely linked to untreated sewage flowing beside tents.
