Thousands of Palestinians displaced from Khan Younis as Israeli attacks intensify

Thousands of Palestinians have been displaced from the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, where the Israeli army and Hamas fighters have engaged in violent fighting.

The displacement happened amid Israeli’s intensified attacks and bombings, eyewitnesses said on Wednesday.

Local eyewitnesses said residents of Khan Younis were in a state of fear and panic and sought to find safe shelters in light of the ongoing Israeli bombings.

The witnesses added that thousands of them escaped the western parts of Khan Younis towards Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and Rafah on the southern tip of Gaza.

The eyewitnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity said, the Israeli army had killed “several” Palestinians who were moving towards the city of Rafah.

The Palestinians either moved or remained inside the tents they had set up as temporary shelters.

A Palestinian security source said that the Israeli army had surrounded Al-Aqsa University in the city of Khan Younis, which has accommodated hundreds of displaced people.

The residents were asked to evacuate the accommodation being surrounded by the Israelis for their safety.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society announced in a statement that at least three displaced people were killed and two others were injured.

This happened as a result of an Israeli bombing that targeted the northern gate of the society’s headquarters in Khan Younis.

Palestinian medical source in the Nasser Medical Complex said ambulance had great difficulties in transporting the wounded and bodies of the dead from western Khan Younis due to Israelis’ heavy gunfire.

The Palestinian presidency called on the international community and the U.S. administration to intervene to prevent the displacement of Palestinians.

The presidency said in a statement that the displacement of Palestinians was a “war crime that cannot be tolerated.”

“We warn the international community that the intentions of Israeli occupation authorities have become clear to displace the Palestinian people from their homeland, with the undesirable consequences that this would entail,” He said.

The presidency said, “This would go to the UN Security Council to hold an emergency and urgent session to confront this serious crime.”

The residents who had just left the city said the latest Israeli attack on Khan Younis was the most violent, since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict on Oct. 7, 2023.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 210 Palestinians and wounded 386 others in 24 attacks.

The attack brought to the total number of Palestinian deaths and injuries to 25,700 and 63,740 respectively, since Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry on Wednesday.