Leaflets were dropped in the eastern neighborhoods of the city of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, warning civilians to evacuate the area and saying that anyone near areas with Hamas forces could risk their lives. Connected AP Similar leaflets were said to have been dropped in northern Gaza before Israeli forces attacked the Gaza Strip.
Earlier, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said on November 15 that the ground campaign of this country’s military forces would eventually include “both northern and southern Gaza. We will attack Hamas anywhere.”
theo AP, Escalating the conflict southward risks exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Conditions worsened in the southern Gaza Strip as buildings were razed to the ground by bombardment.
Residents said there was a shortage of bread and supermarket shelves were empty. Due to shortage of fuel people use wood. Electricity and running water have been cut off throughout Gaza for weeks.
If Israeli forces move south, it is unclear where people would be evacuated as Egypt opposes mass migration from the Gaza Strip.
Gaza Strip after the attack by Israel. Photo: Reuters
Meanwhile, in the northern Gaza Strip, Israeli forces continued searches in the areas of al-Shifa hospital. The Israeli side claims that Hamas has placed its command center in the tunnels beneath this hospital, although Hamas has always denied this.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) discovered a variety of weapons and equipment belonging to Hamas forces inside Al-Shifa Hospital.
Video released by the IDF shows soldiers discovering three duffel bags hidden around a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) room, each containing an assault rifle, a grenade, and a Hamas uniform, as well as in a cabinet There are many assault rifles without ammunition clips.
Connected AP The Israeli claim cannot be independently verified.
After besieging al-Shifa hospital for several days, Israel faced pressure to prove its claim that Hamas was using patients, staff and civilians sheltering there as human shields.
However, to date, Israel has not provided evidence of any Hamas tunnels or command centers beneath al-Shifa hospital. Israeli forces battled Hamas gunmen outside the building for several days, but no gunmen fired from inside, nor did any fighting occur inside the hospital.
Palestinians smoke smoke near a building taking shelter in al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City. Photo: Reuters
Meanwhile, the health authority in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip said on 16 November that Israeli forces searched the underground floors of al-Shifa hospital and arrested technicians responsible for operating the hospital’s equipment.
Munir al-Borsh, an official at the Hamas-run health agency, said Israeli forces searched the basement and several buildings for several hours, including those where emergency departments and surgeries are located.
According to Mr. Munir al-Borsh, the Israeli military interrogated and examined the faces of patients, staff and people taking shelter in this medical facility. However, he said it was not known whether anyone had been arrested.
Since October 7, more than 12,000 people have been killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict, including at least 1,200 in Israel and more than 11,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Hamas has taken about 240 people hostage, including men, women and children.
According to the health authority in Gaza, 2,700 people have been reported missing since the conflict began. About two-thirds of the casualties are believed to be women and children.
