Israeli military officer giving statement to the press. Photo: Emanuel Fabian/Times of Israel.
The Israeli air force is bombarding the entire city as troops push forward, despite alleged ‘safe-zones’ designated by Israel
The Israeli army continued its advance on southern Gaza’s city of Khan Yunis on 6 December under the cover of heavy bombardment, while continuing to face fierce resistance after night-long battles with Hamas’ Qassam Brigades, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad’s Quds Brigade, and other groups.
“Under heavy aerial bombardment, Israeli tanks started pushing deeper and deeper to the center of Khan Yunis city, coming from the eastern side,” Al-Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud said from Rafah, southern Gaza.
The advance has forced “hundreds of people to flee the area.”
“Everybody thought the eastern areas of Khan Younis were the main target, as the leaflets that were dropped on the residents stated, but it seems like the entire city of Khan Younis is under heavy bombardment right now,” Mahmoud added.
Israel recently dropped leaflets on Khan Yunis, telling residents to head towards the Rafah area. It has also published a map of so-called ‘safe-zones’ where it says Gazans should take shelter. Yet Palestinians continue to report air strikes on these areas, and UN officials have denounced the zones as unreliable.
Residents of the southern strip and the hundreds of thousands displaced from northern Gaza have said they have nowhere to go, with many currently stranded at the Rafah crossing or taking shelter in hospitals, which continue to overflow with injured Palestinians, many of whom are women and children.
Khan Yunis’ Al-Nasser Hospital, in particular, one of the last few operating in the south, is in dire condition.
Meanwhile, battles are raging across the southern city. The Qassam Brigades announced via their media channel the targeting of an Israeli tank in “the eastern axis” of the city on Wednesday afternoon and the sniping of several soldiers.
North of Khan Yunis, fighters also targeted a troop carrier and a Merkava tank.
Ambushes of the like are ongoing across the strip, as Israeli troops continue to operate in central and northern Gaza as well.
