By Hosni Nadim
GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army for the third consecutive day continues its ground operation in the eastern Khan Younis areas in the southern Gaza Strip amid heavy firing and destruction of Palestinian homes.
In a statement, Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal said the Israeli army's artillery shelling continues to target the Qarara town, Bani Suhaila town and other areas in eastern Khan Younis amid operations of blowing up homes and infrastructure.
He noted that people including injured ones in those areas are appealing to rescue and evacuate them.
On Monday, the Israeli army launched a surprise attack into Khan Younis 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.
The Israeli attacks on eastern Khan Younis forced thousands of Palestinians to flee their areas immediately towards the western areas of the city which too saw in the past few weeks several deadly Israeli airstrikes.
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an 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 Ahmed Asmar