Israel continued its offensive against Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday with a ground operation and airstrikes.
Israeli forces battled Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, with an increasing focus on the enclave’s south as international aid groups expressed concern that civilians have no safe way out of the conflict.
Israeli tanks and troops advanced near Khan Younis, the second largest in the strip, and carried out airstrikes in the south.
Warnings from the Israeli army in recent days have urged people in several neighborhoods of Khan Younis to evacuate for their safety and directed them to areas even further south.
According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, about 1.8 million people are displaced within the Gaza Strip, while the U.N. Palestine Refugee Agency estimates that nearly a million people are seeking refuge in its facilities in the southern Gaza Strip.
Many people fled the northern Gaza Strip to the south at the start of the war as Israel focused its campaign against Hamas in areas such as Gaza City.
Lynn Hastings, humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, said in a statement Monday that the space for her work in Gaza is “constantly shrinking” and that the amount of aid arriving is “wholly inadequate.”
Also read: Israel orders evacuations in Gaza’s second largest city
“Nowhere in Gaza is safe and there is nowhere left to go,” Hastings said. “The necessary conditions to provide help to the people in Gaza do not exist. If possible, an even more hellish scenario is looming, to which humanitarian operations may not be able to respond.”
During her visit to Gaza on Monday, Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, gave a bleak assessment of the plight of Palestinians in the territory.
“The level of human suffering is unbearable,” he said in a statement. “It is unacceptable that civilians in Gaza do not have a safe place to go, nor is an adequate humanitarian response possible at this time given the military siege.”
Israel has accused Hamas of sneaking in and under hospitals and other civilian areas and encouraging civilians to ignore Israeli evacuation warnings of air strikes, effectively using them as human shields, an accusation Hamas has denied.
Israel began its military campaign to end Hamas rule in Gaza after Hamas militants advanced into southern Israel on October 7. Israel said 1,200 people were killed and about 240 captured.
About 100 of the hostages have since been transferred to Israel in exchange for the release of several hundred Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, at least 15,890 people were killed in Gaza, 70% of them women and children.
[Con información de AP, AFP y Reuters]
Connect with the voice of America! Subscribe to our channels Youtube, Whatsapp and to Newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us Facebook, X And Instagram.