KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli military said Sunday it had expanded its ground operations to every part of Gaza and ordered more evacuations in the crowded south, followed by heavy bombardment, as it vowed that operations there against Hamas would be “no less strength” than its earlier offensive in the north.
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip said they were running out of places to go in the sealed-off territory that borders Israel and Egypt. Many of its 2.3 million people are crammed into the south after Israel ordered civilians to leave the north in the early days of the war, which was sparked by the brutal Oct. 7 attack by Hamas terrorists that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel.
The United Nations estimates that 1.8 million Gazans have been displaced.
Heavy bombardment was reported around Gaza’s second-largest city of Khan Younis in the south and the nearby city of Rafah. U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk urged an end to the war, saying civilian suffering was “too much to bear.”
Meanwhile, fears of a wider conflict intensified. A U.S. warship and multiple commercial ships came under attack Sunday in the Red Sea, the Pentagon said. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed attacks on two ships they described as being linked to Israel but did not acknowledge targeting a U.S. Navy vessel.
Hopes for another temporary truce in Gaza were fading. A weeklong cease-fire that expired Friday facilitated the release of dozens of the roughly 240 Gaza-held Israeli and foreign hostages in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. But Israel has called its negotiators home, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war will continue until “all its goals” are achieved. One is to remove Hamas from power in Gaza.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said resuming talks with Israel on further exchanges must be tied to a permanent cease-fire.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the U.S. is working “really hard” for a resumption of negotiations.
Israel’s military widened evacuation orders in and around Khan Younis, telling residents of at least five more areas to leave. Residents said the military dropped leaflets ordering them to move south to the border city of Rafah or to a coastal area in the southwest. “Khan Younis city is a dangerous combat zone,” the leaflets read.
The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has urged Israel to avoid significant new mass displacement and do more to protect civilians.
Israel’s military said its fighter jets and helicopters struck targets in the Gaza Strip including “tunnel shafts, command centers and weapons storage facilities,” while a drone killed five Hamas fighters. Military officials acknowledged ”extensive aerial attacks in the Khan Younis area.”
Mark Regev, a senior adviser to Netanyahu, said Israel was making “maximum effort” to protect civilians. In addition to the leaflets, the military has used phone calls and radio and TV broadcasts to urge Gazans to move from specific areas.
Israel says it targets Hamas operatives and blames civilian casualties on the terrorist group, accusing it of operating in residential neighborhoods.
The renewed hostilities have heightened concerns for the 137 hostages who the Israeli military believes are still being held by Hamas. During the recent truce, 105 hostages were freed, and Israel released 240 Palestinian prisoners. Most of those released by both sides were women and children.
The families of hostages have called for an urgent meeting with Israel’s Security Cabinet, saying time is “running out to save those still held by Hamas.”