Night strike kills 9 in Khan Younis

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive flee Khan Younis. Pics/AFP

An Israeli strike has killed at least nine people in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, Palestinian health officials said Tuesday, within a day of Israel ordering the evacuation of parts of the city ahead of a ground operation. The overnight strike hit a home near the European Hospital, which is inside the zone that Israel said should be evacuated. After the initial evacuation orders, the military said the facility itself was not included, but its director says most patients and medics have been relocated.

Sam Rose, the director of planning at the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, said Tuesday that the agency believes some 2,50,000 people are in the evacuation zone - over 10 per cent of Gaza's population of 2.3 million - including many who have fled earlier fighting. He says another 50,000 people living just outside the zone may also choose to leave because of their proximity to the fighting.

Israel hits Hamas rocket launch sites in Gaza

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reported that Israel Air Force fighter jets, in cooperation with the IDF's Southern Command, attacked during the night targets in the area within Gaza from which about 20 rocket launches were carried out last night towards the Israeli towns located near the Gaza Strip. Among the targets that were attacked were a weapons warehouse, apartments used as operations control centers and other terrorist infrastructures. Before the attacks, the IDF took precautionary measures and allowed civilians to evacuate the area in order to reduce as much as possible the harm to those not involved.

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