Israel has issued an evacuation order for Palestinians in parts of Khan Younis and surrounding areas, an order that may indicate Israel is planning to target the southern Gaza city for another offensive, as it did earlier this year when thousands of people were displaced and much of Khan Younis was destroyed.
"It just shows, yet again, that no place is safe in Gaza, more efforts need to be made to protect civilians,” said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesperson. "It's another stop in this deadly circle of movement that the population in Gaza has to undergo on a regular basis," added the spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric.
A resident who lives in the targeted evacuation zone, Ahmad Najjar, told Agence France-Presse, "Fear and extreme anxiety have gripped people after the evacuation order." He observed that there has been “a large displacement of residents."
The evacuation order came amid news that Israel released the director of Gaza’s main hospital Monday as part of the release of dozens of Palestinians who were returned to Gaza for medical treatment
Mohammed Abu Selmia had been detained since November. He led Gaza’s Shifa hospital, which Israeli forces raided the same month while alleging Hamas militants were using the site as a command center.
Hospital officials denied the allegations and accused Israel of endangering patients as well as displaced Palestinians who came to the hospital to seek shelter.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir criticized Abu Selmia’s release, saying on X the move is “security abandonment.”
The Israeli military reported carrying out attacks in response to militants firing 20 projectiles from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis at areas along the border.
The military said it intercepted some of the projectiles, while others fell in southern Israel.
Israeli airstrikes also targeted Hezbollah militants in several villages in southern Lebanon.
The prospect of an expanded conflict in the region, with Israel launching more extensive operations against Hezbollah, have drawn warnings from the United States and others about the need to avoid escalation.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu renewed his vow Sunday that there is “no substitute for victory,” telling his Cabinet that Israel would continue its war against Hamas in Gaza until the militants are defeated and 120 Hamas-held hostages, both dead and alive, are returned.
He said the war, nearly nine months long, would continue “until we achieve all our goals,” including that Hamas “no longer poses a threat on Israel.”
Netanyahu contended, “Everyone knows the simple truth: Hamas is the only obstacle to freeing our hostages,” in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians jailed by Israel.
But there appeared to be no change in the stalemated cease-fire talks, with Israel calling for a six-week halt in the fighting and exchange of hostages and prisoners, while Hamas demanded a permanent stop to the fighting and an Israeli withdrawal of its troops.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan said Saturday at a Beirut news conference, "There has been no real progress at the end of aggression negotiations, and what is quoted by the American administration is to put pressure on the (Hamas) movement, to accept the Israel (cease-fire) proposal without modification.”
“Once again,” Hamdan said, “Hamas is ready to deal positively with any proposal that secures a permanent cease-fire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a serious swap deal."
On Saturday, a senior Biden administration official said the U.S. presented new language to intermediaries Egypt and Qatar to try to jump-start the stalled Israel-Hamas negotiations.
Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza erupted when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and seizing more than 250 hostages, mostly civilians, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has so far killed nearly 38,000 people, according to the Gaza’s health ministry, and left the heavily built-up coastal enclave in ruins.
Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
