Israeli tanks continued their incursion today, Friday, into the main city in southern Gaza, where hundreds of thousands have fled to escape Israeli bombardments. Individuals inside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, which houses displaced persons in addition to patients, reported hearing artillery bombardments from the advancing tanks in the west of the city, while residents spoke of fierce gun battles in the south. The Gaza Health Ministry reported that 142 Palestinians were killed and 278 were injured over the past 24 hours. Israeli officials accuse fighters from the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) of using Nasser Hospital as a base for their operations, a claim that hospital staff deny.
The bombardment and ground incursion initiated by Israel following Hamas's attack on towns and villages in the Gaza envelope on October 7 have largely emptied over 60% of the northern coastal area of its residents. According to the United Nations, around 85% of the Gaza Strip's population of 2.3 million has been forced to seek shelter in the south, which has now become the focal point of the Israeli operation aimed at dismantling Hamas.
The ability of individuals to monitor the latest threats, report attacks, reassure relatives, or even communicate with rescue services has been severely hampered due to the near-complete communication blackout that has now lasted for eight days, marking the longest period of disruption since the war began. Health sector officials reported that 12 individuals were killed in Israeli strikes on a residential building near the largely non-functional Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza City.
Israeli forces have conducted limited withdrawals from northern Gaza this month, stating that operations there have largely concluded. However, residents in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in southern Gaza City reported that Israeli tanks have advanced into the area, forcing residents who had sought refuge in some schools there to leave and head south. The Islamic Jihad Movement stated that its fighters engaged with Israeli forces in the al-Bureij and al-Maghazi refugee camps in central Gaza and in Khan Younis, while Hamas's military wing reported that its fighters clashed with Israeli forces in various areas across Gaza during the night and this Friday morning.
The Israeli military stated that it continues its operations in central and northern Gaza, seizing weapons and killing "several armed terrorists." Israel launched its offensive on Gaza in response to the Hamas attack, which it claims resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the abduction of 253 hostages, nearly half of whom still remain in Gaza.
