At least 89 Gazans killed in Israeli attack in Khan Younis, authorities say

By Nour Abuaisha

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – At least 89 Palestinians have been killed and over 263 others injured in an Israeli military operation in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip since Monday, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The Israeli army launched a surprise attack into Khan Younis on Monday after issuing orders for residents to immediately evacuate their homes in the city’s eastern neighborhoods.

The area was previously designated by the Israeli army as a “safe zone” for displaced Palestinians amid Tel Aviv’s ongoing offensive in the Gaza Strip.

Gaza’s government media office said 68 Palestinians are still unaccounted for following the Israeli attack.

The media office said it has received around 1,217 calls for help from families trapped by the Israeli army in eastern Khan Younis.

According to the statement, some 190 houses were bombed in the area.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

Nearly 39,100 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 90,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio