Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Israel Orders Khan Younis Evacuation, Hinting at Southern Gaza Assault
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 10 months ago on
July 1, 2024

Israeli forces ordered a mass evacuation in Khan Younis, suggesting a forthcoming assault, while controversies surround the release of Gaza's hospital director and humanitarian aid disruptions loom. (AP/Jehad Alshrafi)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip  — The Israeli army ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians from much of Khan Younis on Monday, a sign that troops are likely to launch a new ground assault in the Gaza Strip’s second largest city.

The order suggested Khan Younis will be the target in the latest of Israel’s repeated raids into parts of Gaza it had previously invaded during the past mearly nine months, pursuing Hamas militants as they regroup. Much of Khan Younis was already destroyed in a long assault earlier this year, but large numbers of Palestinians have since moved back in to escape another Israeli offensive in Gaza’s southern-most city, Rafah.

The order came as Israel released the director of Gaza’s main hospital after holding him for seven months without charge or trial over allegations the facility had been used as a Hamas command center. He said he and other detainees were held under harsh conditions and tortured.

The decision to release Mohammed Abu Selmia raised questions over Israel’s claims surrounding Shifa Hospital, which Israeli forces have raided twice since the start of the nearly nine-month war with Hamas. Abu Selmia and other Palestinian health officials have denied the accusations.

His release triggered an uproar across Israel’s political spectrum. Government ministers and opposition leaders expressed outrage and insisted Abu Salmia played a role in Hamas’ alleged use of the hospital — though Israeli security services rarely unilaterally free prisoners if they have a suspicion of militant links. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyhu’s office called the release “a grave mistake.”

Khan Younis Evacuation

Monday’s evacuation call covered the entire eastern half of Khan Younis and a large swath of the Gaza Strip’s southeast corner. Earlier in the day, the army said a barrage of rockets out of Gaza was fired from Khan Younis.

The order suggested a new assault into the city was imminent. Israeli forces fought for weeks in Khan Younis earlier this year and withdrew, claiming to have destroyed Hamas battalions in the city. But in other places where the military made similar claims, renewed raids have underscored Hamas’ continued capabilities.

Last week, the military ordered an evacuation from the north Gaza district of Shijaiya, where there has been intensive fighting since.

Netanyahu said Monday that the military was “making progress toward ending the phase of the destruction of Hamas’ terror army.” But he said forces will continue to “target their remains going forward.”

An evacuation and eruption of fighting in the Khan Younis area could further hamper Palestinians’ access to much-needed potable water. Included in the evacuation zone is a water line that Israel installed following criticism over its cutoff of water to the strip early in its campaign.

Also in the zone is the area surrounding the Kerem Shalom crossing, the major aid crossing to southern Gaza, as well as an aid route that Israel said it would safeguard to allow trucks carrying humanitarian aid to enter the strip. Very little aid has entered the strip due to lawlessness along the aid route, and a new offensive would risk further harming aid efforts.

Director’s Release

The decision to release Abu Selmia and 54 other Palestinian detainees back into Gaza appeared to have been taken to free up space in overcrowded detention centers.

“Our detainees have been subjected to all kinds of torture behind bars,” Abu Selmia said at a news conference after his release. “There was almost daily torture.”

He said guards used batons to beat detainees and terrorized them with dogs. He said some detainees had limbs amputated because of poor medical care. He said a beating caused his head to bleed and that guards broke his finger.

The allegations could not be independently confirmed but matched other accounts of Palestinians who have been held in Israeli custody. There was no immediate response from the prison service, which has previously denied similar accusations.

Israeli Raided Shifa Hospital

Israeli forces raided Shifa Hospital in November, alleging that Hamas had created an elaborate command and control center inside the facility. Abu Selmia and other staff denied the allegations and accused Israel of recklessly endangering thousands of patients and displaced people who were sheltering there. Abu Selmia was detained on Nov. 22.

Amid the uproar over Abu Selmia’s release, the various Israeli state organs responsible for detentions scrambled to shift blame.

Netanyahu’s office said Abu Selmia “belongs in prison” and that the prime minister had ordered a thorough review into how the release happened. It said the decision was made “without the knowledge of the political echelon or the heads of the organizations.”

Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister who controls the country’s police and prison service, blamed the Defense Ministry.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s office said prisoner releases are the responsibility of the prison service and the Shin Bet internal security agency. The prison service said the decision was made by the Shin Bet and the army, and released a document ordering his release that was signed by an army reserve general.

The Shin Bet said Abu Selmia had passed a risk assessment, “compared to other detainees.” It said the government had decided against its advice to release detainees determined to be less of a threat in order to free up space.

After its first raid on Shifa Hospital, the military uncovered a tunnel beneath it leading to two empty rooms, as well as evidence that militants had brought wounded hostages to the facility. But the evidence fell short of showing an extensive base as claimed before the raid.

Israel Raided Other Hospitals

Israel has since raided other Gaza hospitals on similar allegations, forcing them to shut down or dramatically reduce services. The army raided Shifa a second time earlier this year, causing heavy destruction after saying that militants had regrouped there.

Since the start of the war, Israeli forces have detained thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and the occupied West Bank, crowding military detention facilities and prisons. Many are being held without charge or trial in what is known as administrative detention.

Israel launched its offensive after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people across southern Israel and took another 250 hostage. In its campaign, Israel has killed at least 37,900 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or fighters.

Most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have fled their homes, with many displaced multiple times. Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of public order have hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid, fueling widespread hunger and sparking fears of famine.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US and Mexico Have Reached Agreement on New World Screwworm, Ag Secretary Rollins Says

DON'T MISS

Death Toll in Iran’s Bandar Abbas Port Blast Rises to 70

DON'T MISS

Selma Mayor Responds to Criminal Charge

DON'T MISS

More Than 100 Immigrants Detained at an Illegal After-Hours Nightclub in Colorado

DON'T MISS

Visalia Police Captain Charged With Embezzlement, Theft

DON'T MISS

Autopsy Confirms Gene Hackman Died From Heart Disease

DON'T MISS

Iran Proposes Meeting With Europeans Before Next Talks With US, Diplomats Say

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Order Requiring List of Sanctuary Cities, States, Official Says

DON'T MISS

Saudi Arabia and Qatar to Pay Off Syria’s Debt to the World Bank

DON'T MISS

Pakistan Defense Minister Says Military Incursion by India Is Imminent

UP NEXT

Iran Proposes Meeting With Europeans Before Next Talks With US, Diplomats Say

UP NEXT

Saudi Arabia and Qatar to Pay Off Syria’s Debt to the World Bank

UP NEXT

Pakistan Defense Minister Says Military Incursion by India Is Imminent

UP NEXT

Huge Power Outage Paralyzes Parts of Spain and Portugal

UP NEXT

US Sanctions Target Deliveries of Oil and Gas to Houthis

UP NEXT

Putin Orders 3-Day Truce in Ukraine Next Month, Kremlin Says

UP NEXT

Suspected US Airstrike Hits Yemen Migrant Centre; Houthi TV Says 68 Killed

UP NEXT

Norway Establishes Diplomatic Relations With State of Palestine

UP NEXT

Conclave to Elect a New Pope Will Start on May 7 as Cardinals Get to Know One Another

UP NEXT

Conflicting US-China Talks Statements Add to Global Trade Confusion

More Than 100 Immigrants Detained at an Illegal After-Hours Nightclub in Colorado

2 hours ago

Visalia Police Captain Charged With Embezzlement, Theft

3 hours ago

Autopsy Confirms Gene Hackman Died From Heart Disease

3 hours ago

Iran Proposes Meeting With Europeans Before Next Talks With US, Diplomats Say

3 hours ago

Trump to Sign Order Requiring List of Sanctuary Cities, States, Official Says

3 hours ago

Saudi Arabia and Qatar to Pay Off Syria’s Debt to the World Bank

4 hours ago

Pakistan Defense Minister Says Military Incursion by India Is Imminent

4 hours ago

Trump Administration Allows Temporary Sales of Summertime Higher-Ethanol Fuel

4 hours ago

US Judge to Hear Harvard’s Case Over Trump Funding Freeze in July

4 hours ago

Madera Man Arrested After Armed Robbery, K-9 Assists in Capture

5 hours ago

US and Mexico Have Reached Agreement on New World Screwworm, Ag Secretary Rollins Says

VERSAILLES, Ohio (Reuters) – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Monday that the United States and Mexico had reached an...

20 minutes ago

Brooke Rollins testifies before a Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 23, 2025. (REUTERS/Kaylee Greenlee Beal/File Photo)
20 minutes ago

US and Mexico Have Reached Agreement on New World Screwworm, Ag Secretary Rollins Says

Smoke rises following an explosion at the Shahid Rajaee port in Bandar Abbas, Iran, April 27, 2025. Iranian Red Crescent/WANA (West Asia News Agency/Handout via REUTERS)
46 minutes ago

Death Toll in Iran’s Bandar Abbas Port Blast Rises to 70

1 hour ago

Selma Mayor Responds to Criminal Charge

In this image taken from video released by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, officers stop a patron from a nightclub where a raid occurred Sunday, April 27, 2025, in Colorado Springs, Colo. (U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration via AP)
2 hours ago

More Than 100 Immigrants Detained at an Illegal After-Hours Nightclub in Colorado

Visalia Police Captain Luma Fahoum has been charged Friday, April 25, 2025, with embezzling nearly $50,000 from the department’s youth program and faces up to three years in local jail if convicted. (Tulare County DA)
3 hours ago

Visalia Police Captain Charged With Embezzlement, Theft

3 hours ago

Autopsy Confirms Gene Hackman Died From Heart Disease

A general view of Muscat, ahead of the awaited negotiations between U.S. and Iran, Muscat, Oman, April 25, 2025. (REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/File Photo)
3 hours ago

Iran Proposes Meeting With Europeans Before Next Talks With US, Diplomats Say

In his first hundred days in office, Trump has moved to strip legal immigration status from hundreds of thousands of people. On Sunday, the White House plastered across the lawnposters of people described as arrested illegal immigrants. (REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein)
3 hours ago

Trump to Sign Order Requiring List of Sanctuary Cities, States, Official Says

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend