Israel orders Palestinians to flee Khan Younis

Israeli forces fought for weeks in Khan Younis earlier this year and withdrew, claiming to have destroyed Hamas battalions. Photo: Radio Nigeria archive

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.

According a report by AP News, the order suggests that Khan Younis will be the latest target of Israel’s raids into parts of Gaza it had previously invaded in the war as it pursues regrouping Hamas militants.

Much of Khan Younis was destroyed in a long assault earlier this year, but large numbers of Palestinians have moved back in to escape another Israeli offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah, the report noted.

Mohammed Abu Salmiya talks to reporters outside Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, following his release on Monday. Photo: Reuters

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 centre, which he and other Palestinian health officials have denied.

The release of Abu Selmia sparked widespread outrage across Israel’s political landscape, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office calling it “a grave mistake.”

Both government ministers and opposition leaders condemned the decision, claiming Abu Selmia was involved in Hamas’ alleged use of a hospital, despite Israeli security services rarely releasing prisoners with suspected militant ties without thorough investigation, the report added.