UPDATE 3 – At least 70 killed in Israeli attacks in Khan Younis after evacuation orders

UPDATES DEATH TOLL, ADDS CHANGES

By Mohammad Sio

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – At least 70 people were killed and over 200 others injured in Israeli attacks in Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry said on Monday.

The Israeli army ordered Palestinians living in the eastern neighborhoods in Khan Younis early Tuesday to evacuate immediately, with residents seen fleeing their areas on foot and by carts amid Israeli bombing, the official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The ministry had earlier put the death toll from the Israeli attacks at 49 and 120 others injured.

The Nasser Medical Complex in the city called on residents “to urgently donate blood” for the injured amid a severe shortage of blood units.

In a statement, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee claimed that “the presence of multiple military operations and rocket fire from the eastern part of Khan Younis has made staying there dangerous.”

The military had earlier designated the eastern neighborhoods of Khan Younis as a “safe zone” for displaced Palestinians in the area.

Two weeks ago, the Israeli army killed at least 90 Palestinians and injured 300 others in attacks on al-Mawasi area near Khan Younis, which was designated by the military as a “safe zone.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the massacre, saying the attack targeted the commander of Hamas’ armed wing, Mohammed Deif, and his deputy.

There was no Israeli confirmation, however, of the commander’s death.

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.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 89,900 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.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this news story from Ankara