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Israel Widens Offensive 12/04 06:11
Israel's military renewed calls Monday for mass evacuations from the
southern town of Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians
have sought refuge in recent weeks, as it widened its ground offensive and
bombarded targets across the Gaza Strip.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) -- Israel's military renewed calls Monday for
mass evacuations from the southern town of Khan Younis, where tens of thousands
of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge in recent weeks, as it widened its
ground offensive and bombarded targets across the Gaza Strip.
The expanded operations, following the expiration of a weeklong cease-fire,
are aimed at eliminating Gaza's Hamas rulers, whose Oct. 7 attack into Israel
triggered the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades. The war has
already killed thousands of Palestinians and displaced over three-fourths of
the territory's population of 2.3 million people, who are running out of safe
places to go.
Already under mounting pressure from its top ally, the United States, Israel
appears to be racing to strike a death blow against Hamas --- if that's
possible, given the group's deep roots in Palestinian society --- before any
new cease-fire. But the mounting toll of the fighting, which Palestinian health
officials say has killed several hundred civilians since the truce ended on
Friday, is likely to further increase international pressure to return to the
negotiating table.
It could also render even larger parts of the isolated territory
uninhabitable.
The ground offensive has transformed much of the north, including large
areas in Gaza City, into a rubble-filled wasteland. Hundreds of thousands of
people have sought refuge in the south, parts of which could meet the same
fate, and both Israel and neighboring Egypt have refused to accept any refugees.
Residents said they heard airstrikes and explosions in and around Khan
Younis overnight and into Monday after the military dropped leaflets warning
people to relocate farther south toward the border with Egypt. In an Arabic
language post on social media early Monday, the military again ordered the
evacuation of nearly two dozen neighborhoods in and around Khan Younis.
While Israel has carried out airstrikes across the territory since the
beginning of the war, it's less clear where ground forces are operating. An
Associated Press reporter in the central town of Deir al-Balah heard shooting
and the sound of tanks nearby, but there was no immediate visual confirmation.
The military rarely comments on troop deployments.
Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, the Israeli military spokesman, confirmed that the
army is pursuing Hamas with "maximum force" in the north and south, and said it
was trying to minimize harm to civilians.
He pointed to a map that divides southern Gaza into dozens of blocks in
order to give "precise instructions" to residents on where to evacuate.
Many Palestinians, however, have ignored past evacuation orders, saying they
do not feel any safer in the areas where they are told to seek refuge -- which
have also been repeatedly bombed. The military has meanwhile barred those who
fled the north from returning, even during the cease-fire.
RISING TOLL
The Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said the death toll in the territory
since Oct. 7 has surpassed 15,500, with more than 41,000 wounded. The ministry
does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70% of
the dead were women and children.
A Health Ministry spokesman asserted that hundreds had been killed or
wounded since the cease-fire ended early Friday. "The majority of victims are
still under the rubble," Ashraf al-Qidra said.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah received 32 bodies overnight
after Israeli strikes across central Gaza, said Omar al-Darawi, an
administrative employee. Associated Press footage showed women in tears,
kneeling over the bodies of loved ones and kissing them.
The military said aircraft struck some 200 Hamas targets overnight, with
ground troops operating "in parallel," without elaborating. It said troops in
northern Gaza uncovered a militant hideout in a school after coming under
attack. Inside, they found two tunnel shafts, one of which had been
booby-trapped, as well as explosives and weapons, the military said.
It is not possible to independently confirm battlefield reports from either
side.
Israel says it does not target civilians and has taken measures to protect
them, including its evacuation orders. In addition to leaflets dropped over
Gaza, the military has used phone calls and radio and TV broadcasts to urge
people to move from specific areas.
Israel says it targets Hamas operatives and blames civilian casualties on
the militants, accusing them of operating in residential neighborhoods. It
claims to have killed thousands of militants, without providing evidence.
Israel says at least 81 of its soldiers have been killed.
U.S. PRESSURE
The U.S. is pressing Israel to avoid more mass displacements and the killing
of civilians, a message underscored by Vice President Kamala Harris during a
visit to the region. She also said the U.S. would not allow the forced
relocation of Palestinians out of Gaza or the occupied West Bank, or the
redrawing of Gaza's borders.
But it's unclear how far the Biden administration is willing or able to go
in pressing Israel to rein in the offensive, even as the White House faces
growing pressure from its allies in Congress.
The U.S. has pledged unwavering support to Israel since the Oct. 7 attack,
which killed over 1,200 people, mostly civilians, including rushing munitions
and other aid to Israel.
Israel has rejected U.S. suggestions that control over postwar Gaza be
handed over to the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority as part of
renewed efforts to resolve the overall conflict by establishing a Palestinian
state.
Hopes for another temporary truce faded after Israel called its negotiators
home over the weekend. Hamas said talks on releasing any more of the scores of
hostages seized by Palestinian militants on Oct. 7 must be tied to a permanent
cease-fire.
The earlier truce facilitated the release of 105 of the roughly 240 Israeli
and foreign hostages taken to Gaza during the Oct. 7 attack, and the release of
240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. Most of those released by both sides
were women and children.
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