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The central road out of Khan Younis ‘constitutes a battlefield’, says the IDF; the UN says that ‘an even more hellish scenario’ looms for Gaza
Israeli tanks, armoured personnel carriers and bulldozers have entered the southern part of the Gaza Strip near Khan Younis, as an Israeli commander claimed the army had almost completed its mission in the north.
Israeli military vehicles were on the southern section of the main north-to-south road in Gaza, “firing bullets and tank shells at cars and people trying to move through the area”, a witness, Moaz Mohammed, told the AFP news agency.
Israel’s military expanded ground operations deeper into southern Gaza, with dozens of Israeli tanks, armoured personnel carriers and bulldozers entering the Gaza Strip near Khan Younis. Witnesses said Israeli military vehicles were on the southern section of the main north-to-south road in Gaza, “firing bullets and tank shells at cars and people trying to move through the area”. Israeli military issued fresh orders to Palestinians in about 20 areas of central Gaza to move farther south, posting maps online.
The Israeli army has denied telling the World Health Organization to empty an aid warehouse in southern Gaza within 24 hours before ground operations in the area render it unusable. The Israeli defence ministry body responsible for Palestinian civilian affairs, COGAT said on X “The truth is that we didn’t ask you to evacuate the warehouses and we also made it clear (and in writing) to the relevant UN representatives”. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote on X on Monday: “Today, WHO received notification from the Israel Defense Forces that we should remove our supplies from our medical warehouse in southern Gaza within 24 hours, as ground operations will put it beyond use… We appeal to Israel to withdraw the order, and take every possible measure to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and humanitarian facilities,” he wrote.
The White House said Hamas broke an agreement to release more female hostages, and its refusal to do so was the cause of the collapse of the week-long truce with Israel on Friday. In a briefing at the White House on Monday afternoon, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said “it is that refusal by Hamas that has caused the end of the hostage agreement, and therefore the end of the pause in hostilities”. He it was “too soon” to judge if Israel provided enough notice, or done enough to inform Palestinian civilians where it would be safe as it moved into southern Gaza, but said the US warned Israel civilians must be protected.
Matthew Miller, a US state department spokesperson, said Hamas continued to hold female Israeli hostages because it did not want them to reveal what they experienced in captivity. Hamas fighters committed widespread “gender-based atrocities and sexual violence” during the 7 October attacks according to Israeli police who say they have evidence of more than 1,500 incidents. “The fact [Hamas] continue to hold women hostages, the fact that they continue to hold children hostages … and the reason this pause fell apart, is they don’t want those women to be able to talk about what happened to them during their time in custody,” Miller told a media briefing.
Gaza’s health ministry issued new casualty figures, saying that 15,899 Palestinians have been killed by Israel’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip since 7 October. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip, says that 70% of those who have been killed are women and children. It does not distinguish in the figures between civilians and combatants. The number of deaths is likely under-counted, as the collapse of the health system in Gaza has made it difficult for statistics to be gathered, and there are more than 6,000 Palestinians considered missing within the territory.
Telecoms company PalTel said that Gaza is facing a communications blackout, with all telecom services (landline, cellular and internet) in Gaza City and north Gaza Strip lost due to the disconnection of main elements of the network.
At least 60 Palestinians were arrested in the occupied West Bank overnight, Al Jazeera reported, with Israeli forces carrying out raids in the cities of Qalqilya, Jericho, Jenin and Tulkarem. At least 30 armoured vehicles were deployed in Jenin following a dawn raid, the broadcaster reported.
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