Palestinians asked to evacuate Khan Younis

Israel carried out fresh strikes in southern Gaza on Tuesday, forcing hundreds of Palestinians to flee after the army once again ordered the evacuation of certain densely populated areas.

Witnesses reported multiple strikes in and around the city of Khan Younis, where eight people were killed and more than 30 were wounded, according to a medical source and the Palestinian Red Crescent.

The bombardment came after a rare rocket barrage claimed by the militant group Islamic Jihad, which has fought alongside Hamas.

The rockets were aimed at Israeli communities near the Gaza border and were fired in retaliation for Israeli "crimes... against our Palestinian people", said the Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad.

The Israeli military said about "20 projectiles were identified crossing from the area of Khan Younis", most of which were intercepted. It reported no casualties and said artillery was "striking the sources of the fire".

Palestinians leave Khan Yunis after the Israeli army issued a new evacuation order on Monday. AFP

This was followed on Monday by an order to evacuate Al-Qarara, Bani Suhaila and other towns in Rafah and Khan Younis, nearly two months after an initial order to evacuate Rafah ahead of a ground offensive.

Prior to Israel's ground incursion in Rafah, well over one million people had been displaced to Gaza's southernmost city.

"Fear and extreme anxiety have gripped people after the evacuation order," said Bani Suhaila resident Ahmad Najjar. "There is a large displacement of residents."

‘Difficult fight’

Other parts of the Gaza Strip were reeling from continued fighting nearly nine months into the devastating conflict.

Witnesses and the civil defence agency reported Israeli air strikes in the southern Rafah area and in the central Nuseirat refugee camp.

Displaced Palestinians leave an area in east Khan Yunis on Monday. AFP

And in Gaza City's Shujaiya district, where battles raged for a fifth day on Monday, witnesses reported heavy Israeli tank fire.

An AFP correspondent reported Israeli helicopters firing on houses in Shujaiya, while Hamas's armed wing, the Al-Qassam Brigades, said it was continuing to fight in Shujaiya and Rafah.

The Israeli military said troops "eliminated numerous terrorists" in raids in Shujaiya, where air strikes also killed "approximately 20" militants.

The military also announced the death of a soldier in southern Gaza, bringing its total toll during the ground offensive to 317.

Netanyahu, who recently declared that the "intense phase" of the war was winding down, said on Sunday troops were "operating in Rafah, Shujaiya, everywhere in the Gaza Strip".

"This is a difficult fight that is being waged above ground... and below ground" in tunnels.

A woman holds a baby wrapped in a blanket as displaced Palestinians leave Khan Younis area on Monday. AFP

The war started with Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza including 42 the army says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 37,900 people, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Months of on-and-off talks towards a truce and hostage release deal have made little progress, with Hamas saying Saturday there was "nothing new" in a revised plan presented by US mediators.

Agence France-Presse