GAZA STRIP: Israel carried out fresh strikes in southern Gaza on Tuesday, forcing hundreds of Palestinians to flee after the army once again ordered the evacuation of certain densely populated areas.
Witnesses reported multiple strikes in and around the city of Khan Yunis, where eight people were killed and more than 30 were wounded, according to a medical source and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
The bombardment came after a rare rocket barrage claimed by the militant group Islamic Jihad, which has fought alongside Hamas.
The rockets were aimed at Israeli communities near the Gaza border and were fired in retaliation for Israeli “crimes… against our Palestinian people”, said the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad.
The Israeli military said about “20 projectiles were identified crossing from the area of Khan Yunis”, most of which were intercepted. It reported no casualties and said artillery was “striking the sources of the fire”.
This was followed on Monday by an order to evacuate Al-Qarara, Bani Suhaila and other towns in Rafah and Khan Yunis, nearly two months after an initial order to evacuate Rafah ahead of a ground offensive. Prior to Israel’s ground incursion in Rafah, well over one million people had been displaced to Gaza’s southernmost city.
“Fear and extreme anxiety have gripped people after the evacuation order,” said Bani Suhaila resident Ahmad Najjar. “There is a large displacement of residents.”
Other parts of the Gaza Strip were reeling from continued fighting nearly nine months into the devastating conflict.
Witnesses and the civil defence agency reported Israeli air strikes in the southern Rafah area and in the central Nuseirat refugee camp.
And in Gaza City’s Shujaiya district, where battles raged for a fifth day on Monday, witnesses reported heavy Israeli tank fire.
An AFP correspondent reported Israeli helicopters firing on houses in Shujaiya, while Hamas’s armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said it was continuing to fight in Shujaiya and Rafah.
The Israeli military said troops “eliminated numerous terrorists” in raids in Shujaiya, where air strikes also killed “approximately 20” militants.
The military also announced the death of a soldier in southern Gaza, bringing its total toll during the ground offensive to 317. – AFP
