Extract from ABC News
In short:
Israel ordered the evacuation of designated humanitarian zones around the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, ahead of an operation targeting Hamas militants.
Palestinian officials say the Israeli military began attacking the area almost immediately after the order, while thousands of civilians were fleeing for shelter.
What's next?
Hundreds of civilians have been injured in the bombardments, according to Gaza's health ministry, but Israel vows to not stop until its objective of eliminating Hamas is achieved.
Israel issued new orders to evacuate parts of a crowded humanitarian zone in Gaza on Monday, following what it said were renewed attacks by Hamas militants operating out of those areas.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) made the order for an eastern part of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, where Israel estimates at least 1.8 million Palestinians are taking refuge.
Medics in Gaza said Israeli forces opened fire immediately after the evacuation call, killing at least 37 Palestinians near the city.
Civilians were killed by tank salvos in the town of Bani Suhaila and other towns just east of Khan Younis, which was also bombarded by air, authorities said.
The IDF said its strikes were aimed at militant targets in Khan Younis and the nearby area of Al-Mawasi, a humanitarian zone blanketed with tent camps that lack sanitation and medical facilities which has been attacked many times since October.
Gaza's health ministry said the dead included several women and children and that dozens of other people had been injured. The Hamas-run ministry does not distinguish between militants and civilians in its death tallies.
About 400,000 people are living in the targeted areas, and dozens of families began to leave their houses on Monday, Palestinian officials said, adding they were not given time to leave before the Israeli strikes began.
Some families fled on donkey carts while others fled on foot, carrying mattresses and other belongings.
At Nasser Hospital, some people stood outside the morgue to bid farewell to dead relatives before burials.
"We are tired, we are tired in Gaza, every day our children are martyred, every day, every moment," said Ahmed Sammour, who lost several relatives in the bombing.
"No one told us to evacuate. They brought four floors crashing down on civilians … and the bodies they could reach, they brought to the [morgue] refrigerator."
Netanyahu government unyielding
Earlier, an Israeli military statement said the new evacuation orders were given due to renewed Palestinian militant attacks, including rockets launched from the targeted areas in eastern Khan Younis.
The military said it was adjusting the boundaries of a humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi — to the west of Khan Younis — to keep the civilian population away from areas of combat with Hamas-led Palestinian militants.
The Palestinians, the United Nations and international relief agencies have said there is no safe place left for civilians in Gaza. Earlier in July, dozens of Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli attacks in Al-Mawasi.
Israel said those attacks were aimed at armed militants, including some top Hamas military commanders. Palestinian officials called those allegations false and said they were used to justify the attacks.
Later on Monday, health officials at Nasser Hospital urged residents to donate blood because of the large number of casualties being rushed into the medical centre.
Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas after militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages in a cross-border assault on October 7, 2023, according to Israeli tallies.
Meanwhile, the death toll among Palestinians in Israel's retaliatory offensive had reached at least 39,000 as of Monday, Gaza health authorities said.
A ceasefire effort led by Qatar and Egypt and backed by the United States has so far fallen short because of disagreements over terms between the combatants, who blame each other for the impasse.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left on a much-anticipated trip to the United States on Monday to meet with President Joe Biden, who on Sunday said he would not seek another term, and address Congress.
Mr Netanyahu said regardless of who became the next president, "our enemies must know that Israel and the United States stand together tomorrow and always".
Reuters/AP
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