Palestinians flee Khan Younis as Israel steps up ground operation

Palestinian families flee the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on the coastal road leading to Rafah. [AFP]

Israeli forces have stormed one hospital and placed another under siege in the southern Gaza Strip, cutting wounded people off from trauma care, Palestinian officials say.

Israeli soldiers on Monday advanced for the first time into al-Mawasi district near the Mediterranean coast west of Khan Younis, the main city in southern Gaza. There, they stormed Al-Khair General Hospital and arrested medical staff, Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra told the news agency Reuters.

There was no immediate word from Israel on the situation at the hospital. The military spokesperson’s office had no comment.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said tanks had surrounded another Khan Younis hospital, El Amal City Hospital, headquarters of the rescue agency, which had lost contact with its staff there.

Qudra said at least 50 people were killed overnight in Khan Younis and the sieges of medical facilities mean dozens of dead and wounded were beyond the reach of rescuers.

“The Israeli occupation is preventing ambulance vehicles from moving to recover bodies of martyrs and the wounded from western Khan Younis,” he said.

Israel has accused Hamas fighters of operating in and around hospitals. Hamas and medical staff have denied the allegations.

“Hamas embeds its operation within and under hospitals and other medical facilities,” said Elad Goren with the Israeli military body responsible for Palestinian civil affairs. “A particular effort led by a dedicated team has been put on making sure that civilians have access to medical care.”

Residents said bombardments from air, land and sea were the most intense in the southern sector of Gaza since the war began on October 7 as Israeli tanks surged across Khan Younis towards the Mediterranean coast.

The latest phase of the war has brought fighting deep into southern areas of Gaza densely packed with those who fled bombardments in other parts of the besieged Palestinian enclave. [AFP]

At least 25,295 Gazans have been killed since October 7, Gaza health authorities say. [AFP]

Many of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are in Rafah, crammed into public buildings and vast camps of tents made from plastic sheets lashed to wooden frames. [AFP]

Khan Younis was once designated a "safe zone" by Israel, and thousands of people fled here from the north. It has since become a site of devastation and suffering as Israeli forces push deeper into the city. [AFP]

There is an intense bombing campaign near the Nasser Medical Complex and El Amal City Hospital in the western part of the city. [AFP]

Palestinians fleeing Khan Younis due to the Israeli ground operation arrive in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

Palestinian authorities on January 22, 2024, said at least 190 people were killed and 340 wounded in Gaza over the latest 24-hour reporting period. [AFP]

The Israeli army bombarded Khan Younis, the latest epicentre of the war in Gaza, on January 22, 2024, after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected what he said were Hamas conditions for the release of captives. [AFP]

A general view of a tent camp housing displaced Palestinians as smoke rises in the distance due to an Israeli ground operation in Khan Younis as seen from Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]