Thousands of people fled Khan Yunis as Israeli forces surrounded the city. Follow minute by minute here
A group of Palestinians fleeing their homes from Khan Yunis, Gaza, carrying their belongings. (Photo: Ali Jadallah/Anadolu/Getty Images).
Thousands of displaced Palestinians are fleeing Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, as the Israeli army said it surrounded the town amid new operations in the west of the territory.
A CNN video showed displaced people sitting on roadsides and on the seashore. Videos showed cars, trucks and tractors carrying families with their essential belongings and crowds of people on foot.
Many of those who escaped described horrific scenes.
“There are dead people on the ground. We left them behind. There are dead people inside the houses,” said Hisham Sayegh, a displaced person from Gaza. “We were expected to die at any moment.”
Meanwhile, Israel is grappling with the deaths of at least 24 of its soldiers in Gaza, the biggest loss for Israeli troops in the region since the war with Hamas began. More than 25,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.
Here’s what you need to know:
Hospital under siege: Doctors Without Borders staff said they could not follow Israeli orders to evacuate the area around al-Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, as sounds of “bombs and heavy gunfire” could be heard nearby. “Due to heavy shelling and fighting in the areas surrounding Nasser Hospital, injured civilians will not be able to receive immediate or immediate care,” the group said. The United Nations said conditions in hospitals in the area had worsened due to the expansion of Israeli military operations.
Contradictory point: A Doha spokesman said Qatar is in “serious discussions” with Israel and Hamas, but recent statements by Israeli officials have hindered progress. He said, “Obviously, when one side says they don’t accept the two-state solution and they ultimately won’t stop this war… then that obviously leads to a more difficult mediation process.” Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Israel’s rejection of a two-state solution is “unacceptable” and risks prolonging the conflict.
American Diplomacy: The White House said on Tuesday that ongoing talks to secure the release of hostages in Gaza have not yet reached the level of “negotiation”, describing it as a “calm and serious” discussion that could be acceptable to all. Has gone. This comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US would not support Israel in permanently creating a so-called “buffer zone” in Gaza, which would effectively reduce the size of the Palestinian territory.
Widespread Conflict: At least one person has been killed and two others wounded in US strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq, an Iraqi security source told CNN. The strikes targeted three facilities used by Iran-backed Kata’ib Hezbollah and other groups linked to Tehran, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement, following a series of attacks on US forces. The Israeli military said this was because Israeli warplanes attacked targets in Lebanon, including “military assets” used by Hezbollah and operated by Iranian forces.
Tension in the Red Sea: US forces launched strikes in Yemen against two Houthi anti-ship missiles launched into the southern Red Sea, US Central Command said late Tuesday. It came after the United States and the United Kingdom launched additional strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on Monday.
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