'They were firing in the street,' say Khan Younis residents after Israel's orders to leave
The Israeli military on Monday ordered all residents of Khan Younis and nearby areas in southern Gaza to leave immediately ahead of an "unprecedented offensive", as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel planned to take control of the Palestinian enclave in its entirety.
People living in Khan Younis, Bani Suheila and Abasan must move immediately west to the coastal Mawasi area, army spokesman Avichay Adraee said in an eviction order posted on X. The military "will launch an unprecedented offensive to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organisations in this area", he said. "From this moment, Khan Younis will be considered a dangerous combat zone."
The army said on Sunday that its troops were carrying out 'extensive' ground operations throughout northern and southern Gaza as part of a new offensive called Gideon's Chariots. Mr Netanyahu said on Monday that the fighting in Gaza was "intense" and that Israeli forces were "making progress".
"We will take control of all the territory of the strip," he said in a video posted to his Telegram channel. The intensified campaign, which Israel says has the aim of freeing remaining hostages and defeating Hamas, began on Saturday as the two sides held indirect ceasefire talks in Qatar.
Residents reported heavy Israeli bombardment in the centre of Khan Younis on Monday morning as Israeli forces disguised as displaced Palestinians carried out a raid that killed a member of Al Nasser Salah Al Din Brigades, the armed wing of the Popular Resistance Committees.
"Heavy explosions and air strikes began in Al Balad area, specifically on Street 5 in the city centre. There were possibly more than 50 air strikes, along with artillery shells falling on the area one after another,' said Khalil Sardah, 28.
'I was at home, standing by the window watching. I saw many people injured and killed in the streets, especially those who usually go out early to bake bread, fetch water, or collect firewood for cooking. I saw vehicles carrying armed men, and on top of the vehicles were belongings of displaced people. They were firing randomly in the street.
'There is a house belonging to the Sarhan family in our area. It was surrounded by special forces, and we saw gunmen coming out of the house after there had been heavy gunfire inside. There were a lot of quadcopters filling the sky and smoke everywhere. From the very first moment, we realised that something serious, an operation was happening.
'When things calmed down a little, we entered the Sarhan house and found our neighbour, Ahmad Sarhan, who is known to work with the Al Nasser Brigades, martyred along with one of his children. There was no one else in the house, even though he has four children. This strongly suggests the arrest of his wife and the remaining children by the Israeli special forces.'
Ibrahim Al Astal, 32, who also lives in the area, said residents found 'a box, a sleeping mat and several blankets that appeared to have fallen from the roof of one of the vehicles believed to have been used in the operation. The way these items were arranged and tied together strongly suggested they belonged to a displaced family,' he told The National. There was no immediate confirmation of the raid from the Israeli military.
Israeli strikes across Gaza on Monday had killed at 63 people by the evening, including 16 in Khan Younis, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported, quoting medical sources.
The death toll from the war in Gaza, which began with a deadly attack on southern Israel by Hamas and other militant groups in October 2023, rose to 53,475, health authorities in the strip said on Monday, with another 121,398 wounded.
Alongside its intensified military operations, Israel on Monday began allowing aid to enter Gaza for the first time since March 2, ending a blockade that it said was intended to force concessions from Hamas.
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