GAZA: Israeli forces bombarded several areas of the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday and thousands of Palestinians fled their homes in what could be part of a final push of Israel's intensive military operations in nine months of war.
Eight Palestinians were killed and dozens wounded, health officials said. Israel's military said that two soldiers had been killed in battle a day earlier.
Israel's leaders have said they were winding down the phase of intense fighting against Palestinian groups and would soon shift into more targeted operations.
Later on Tuesday, 17 Palestinians were killed in Israeli tank shelling of a street in the densely populated Zeitoun neighbourhood in Gaza City in the north of the Strip, medics said. Footage on some Palestinian social media showed the scene at a local market, with bread scattered on a floor stained with blood.
The Israeli army had ordered residents of several towns and villages in eastern Khan Younis to evacuate their homes on Monday, prior to tanks re-entering the area the military had left several weeks ago.
Thousands who had not heeded the call were forced to flee their homes in the dark overnight, as Israeli tanks and planes bombed Karara, Abassan and other areas that had been named in the evacuation orders, residents and media said.
"Where will we go?" said Tamer, a 55-year-old businessman, who has been displaced six times since Oct. 7. "Every time people go back to their homes and begin to rebuild some of their lives even on the rubble of their houses, the occupation sends the tanks back to destroy what is left," he added.
The offensive launched by Israel in retaliation has killed nearly 38,000 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, and has left the heavily built-up coastal enclave in ruins.
The Gaza health officials say most of the dead are civilians. Israel says 320 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza and that at least a third of the Palestinian dead are fighters.
Israel says that its operation in Rafah, in southern Gaza near the border with Egypt, that was meant to stamp out Hamas in its final redoubt will soon be concluded.
After the intense phase of the war is over, its forces will focus on smaller-scale operations meant to stop Palestinian groups from regrouping, officials say.
Efforts to secure a ceasefire and the release of hostages in Gaza have stalled. Hamas says any deal must end the war and bring a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. — Reuters
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