Israel has deployed its troops to the southern Gaza Strip, saying the war will now cover the entire Palestinian enclave and include for the first time Israel’s largest infantry brigade for the growing ground offensive.
After destroying several Hamas headquarters in northern Gaza, Israeli troops and tanks were spotted on Monday in the southern half of the enclave, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been evacuated.
Humanitarian groups said they have run out of advice for refugees fleeing the violence, which began when the Palestinian terrorist group launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking dozens of hostages.
“We have nothing to tell them,” Thomas White, director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, said of the refugees, noting that some of Israel’s retaliatory attacks are occurring in Khan Younis. and Rafah, to which almost 1 million people have run.
Israel resumed its relentless campaign of airstrikes in Gaza over the weekend after a seven-day ceasefire. AFP via Getty Images Israel has expanded its operations in southern Gaza as it deploys its specially trained Kfir Brigade for the first time. FDI/GPO/SIPA/Shutterstock
Israeli officials have said they are doing everything they can to limit civilian casualties as they aim to target only Hamas, which is hiding everywhere from hospitals to kindergartens, to try to elude the enemy while vowing to destroy Israel.
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that the Salah a-Din axis, about 3 miles north of Khan Younis and one of the central routes into the city, now “constitutes a battlefield.”
The IDF warned fleeing Palestinians to avoid the axis.
“The Israel Defense Forces will soon launch a strong attack on your area with the aim of destroying Hamas,” the IDF said in leaflets it dropped in the area.
“Remain in currently known shelters until the fighting in the area ends. These are the last hours to evacuate, do not wait until it is impossible,” he added.
The Kfir Brigade is trained to fight Palestinian terrorists and has discovered 30 Hamas tunnels. IDF/GPO/SIPA/Shutterstock Palestinians who fled to Khan Younis are now evacuating shelters as the war spreads south. AFP via Getty Images
With operations expanding throughout Gaza, the IDF has deployed the Kfir Brigade, its largest infantry unit specialized in urban and guerrilla warfare, the Times of Israel reported.
The brigade, formed after the 2005 terrorist attack in the West Bank, is tailor-made to fight Hamas terrorists in the blighted streets of Gaza.
Maj. Gen. Yaniv Barot, the brigade’s commander, said it was the first time the unit had been called into battle since its creation and that it had already discovered more than 30 Hamas tunnels and directed 100 artillery strikes in Gaza.
As Israel strengthens its military power, the Biden administration has been in talks with the Jewish state to prioritize the safety of Palestinian civilians who fled to the south during Israel’s recent seven-day ceasefire with Hamas.
The IDF has warned residents of Khan Younis to flee due to an imminent “strong attack.” AFP via Getty Images Civilians rush south, and one family uses a camel and donkey cart to transport their belongings. AFP via Getty Images
Biden told Israel that it cannot use the same airstrikes in the south that it has used in the north because they would cause greater mass casualties and destruction than has already been seen, CNN said.
Israeli bombing has damaged or destroyed approximately 40% to 50% of all structures in the northern half of the enclave, according to satellite analysis by researchers at the CUNY Graduate Center and Oregon State University.
So far, the war has claimed the lives of more than 14,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-linked Health Ministry.
Injured Palestinian children are being treated at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis. REUTERS Palestinians recover their belongings after a bombing in Deir al Balah on Monday. AP
Mirjana Spoljaric, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, echoed calls to protect civilians after arriving in Gaza on Monday to witness the impacts of war.
“I repeat our urgent call for civilians to be protected in accordance with the laws of war and for aid to enter unhindered.” Spoljaric wrote in.
Spoljaric also called on Hamas to release the 137 hostages it still holds in Gaza so that the Red Cross can treat them.
As the Israeli army advances, Hamas continues to fire rockets into Israel. AFP via Getty Images
As Israel’s war cabinet meets on Monday, Israeli leaders continue to reiterate that the war will not end until Hamas is completely destroyed.
Ronen Bar, head of Israel’s internal security agency, Shin Bet, said his nation would pursue any and all Hamas members throughout the Middle East.
“Everywhere, in Gaza, in the West Bank, in Lebanon, in Turkey, in Qatar, everywhere,” Bar said Sunday on Israeli public broadcaster Kan. “It will take a few years, but we will be there to do it.” he.”
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