Palestinian residents of eastern neighbourhoods of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip fled their homes yesterday as Israeli tanks advanced deep into the area after Israel ordered the population to evacuate.The tanks pushed into the Khan Younis town of Bani Suhaila and several districts nearby were bombed for a second day, forcing tens of thousands of civilians to seek refuge elsewhere.Gaza health officials said Israeli military strikes since Monday killed at least 80 Palestinians in the Khan Younis area — adding to a death toll of more than 39,000 in nearly 10 months of warfare, according to Gaza authorities’ figures.Many of the newly displaced families said they had to spend the night in the streets as they searched in vain for a space as western Khan Younis and central Gaza areas were overcrowded.UN officials described scenes of despair as Israeli airstrikes hit the area."The situation is impossible,” the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said on X."People are exhausted from the continuous displacement and unliveable conditions & they are trapped in increasingly small & overcrowded areas,” it said.Residents in Khan Younis said tanks remained stationed deep inside Bani Suhaila, east of downtown Khan Younis. Soldiers were seen searching inside the town’s main cemetery, while others commandeered roofs of high-rise buildings, firing their guns toward the western areas from time to time, residents said.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is in Washington this week, told families of hostages held in Gaza that a deal that would secure their release could be near.Months of efforts mediated by Egypt and Qatar to reach a ceasefire gained momentum in recent weeks under a proposal outlined by Biden in May.
July 24, 2024 | 01:18 AM