Gaza residents seek shelteras Israeli bombing intensifies
GAZA/CAIRO—Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip sought shelter in an ever-shrinking area of the south on Sunday as Israel stepped up its bombing from air, sea and land across the enclave.
Bombardments were concentrated on Khan Younis and Rafah in the south, residents said. Hospitals were struggling to cope with the flow of wounded, they said.
These were taking place despite growing calls from the United States—Israel’s closest ally—for Israel to avoid further harm to Palestinian civilians.
More than 15,400 have been killed as of Sunday, according to Hamas-controlled authorities, in nearly two months of warfare that broke out after a Hamas cross-border raid on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 200 taken hostage.
Israel says it is acting to annihilate Hamas, saying it poses a mortal threat to the Jewish state’s very existence. The present war has become the bloodiest episode in the decades-old wider Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Gaza residents said on Sunday they feared an Israeli ground offensive on the southern areas was imminent. Tanks had cut off the road between Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, effectively dividing the Gaza Strip into three areas, they said.
The Israeli military issued a statement ordering Palestinians to immediately evacuate half a dozen areas in and around Khan Younis. It posted a map highlighting shelters they should go to. —REUTERS
