With bombing from all sides and in areas together with hospitals and universities, there is no such thing as a secure hall for folks to flee.
Israeli shells have battered Khan Younis, chopping off two hospitals as town in southern Gaza noticed the bloodiest preventing because the New 12 months.
Tanks closed in on Al-Amal Hospital and Al-Khair Hospital on Monday, a part of an Israeli offensive that started final week to take management of Khan Younis, with Israel saying town is now the principle headquarters of the Palestinian group Hamas.
The bombardment marks a revitalised Israeli offensive within the warfare, which started on October 7 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing some 1,139 folks. Israel’s retaliation has killed 25,295 Palestinians since.
Residents instructed AFP that it was probably the most intense bombing that they had witnessed because the warfare started.
The preventing across the hospitals has made the supply of medical care tough and halted most ambulance providers, chopping the wounded off from medical care.
Assault drones have focused hospitals and Al-Aqsa College, the enclave’s largest, as the realm is bombed by land, air and sea, with no secure hall for folks to flee, stated Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Rafah in southern Gaza. Israeli floor troops had been additionally assaulting residential buildings, he added.
The town, beneath heavy bombardment for over a month, was as soon as designated a “secure zone” by Israel, with 1000’s having fled there from the north.
“Now it’s only a scene of devastation and struggling as Israeli forces push deeper into town,” Mahmoud stated.
No refuge
The Palestine Crimson Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that its ambulance centre had been attacked, stopping first responders from reaching the wounded.
The rescue company additionally stated it had misplaced contact with its employees at its Khan Younis predominant base.
🚨Pressing: PRCS ambulances unable to succeed in the wounded in Khan Yunis. Israeli occupation forces are besieging the PRCS ambulance middle, and focusing on anybody trying to maneuver within the space.#Gaza #NotATarget ❌#IHL pic.twitter.com/NXOT2Zzvlv
— PRCS (@PalestineRCS) January 22, 2024
Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, similar to all of the hospitals in southern Gaza, can be beneath intense assault, PRCS spokesperson Nebal Farsakh instructed Al Jazeera, with ambulances unable to answer calls.
Well being officers stated not less than 20 lifeless our bodies had arrived in a single day when the hospital was nonetheless accessible.
“The occupation has in a single day launched an unprecedented floor and air warfare on Khan Younis. Persons are trapped close to Mawasi, individuals are trapped in Al-Amal Hospital, in Al-Aqsa College. Persons are carrying the lifeless and wounded on donkey carts,” stated a medic inside Nasser Hospital.
Gaza Ministry of Well being spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qudra stated that dozens of lifeless and wounded had been trapped in areas focused by Israeli troops.
“The Israeli occupation is stopping ambulance autos from shifting to get well our bodies of martyrs and the wounded from western Khan Younis,” he stated.
Darkish days
It appears there’s little probability that the preventing will ease within the close to future.
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant stated on Monday that army operations is not going to solely proceed, however will likely be expanded.
Nearly all of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents at the moment are caged in two cities, Deir el-Balah and Rafah, simply north and south of Khan Younis respectively.
Round 85 p.c of the territory’s inhabitants has been displaced, with 1000’s sheltering in United Nations-run camps in squalid circumstances, with illness and starvation rife.
“Very darkish days forward because the state of affairs will get worse by the hour,” stated Mahmoud.
