After nearly two months of fighting provoked by fatal strikes on Israel, Israeli soldiers fought Hamas terrorists in Gaza’s largest southern city on Wednesday, while the UN issued a warning that a full breakdown in public order was impending.
Witnesses reported that Israeli forces, tanks, bulldozers, and armored personnel carriers had rolled into Khan Yunis, the second-largest city in Gaza, forcing the already-displaced civilian population to escape once more.
AFP was informed by sources in Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian terrorist organization, and Hamas that their militants were engaged in a battle to control admission into the city.
But the Israeli army said it had pierced defensive lines and carried out “targeted raids in the heart of the city”, where they found and destroyed 30 tunnel shafts.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement that Israeli forces were closing in on the home of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, with a spokesman saying it is “underground” in the Khan Yunis area.
“We are devastated, mentally overwhelmed,” said Khan Yunis resident Amal Mahdi, who survived an overnight Israeli strike. “We need someone to find us a solution so we can get out of this situation.”
Following the militant group’s October 7 attacks, which resulted in 1,200 deaths—mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities—and the kidnapping of about 240 hostages, Israel declared war on Hamas.
16,248 people in the Palestinian territory have died in the conflict, the majority of them women and children, according to the most recent toll released by the Hamas leadership.
