The Israeli army said yesterday it had "encircled" the city after two days of heavy fighting, in what Israeli officials have described as the last large ground assault in the three-month war before a shift to "lower intensity" operations aimed at eradicating the Palestinian militant group. By yesterday morning, fierce battles had reached Khan Younis's three main hospitals - al-Aqsa, Nasser and al-Amal - making it difficult for civilians to flee, according to Ocha, the UN humanitarian agency.
A building at a training centre in the city run by the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, where about 800 people had sought shelter, was hit by tank shelling yesterday, according to the agency's director, who said on social media that nine people had been killed and 75 injured, with medical teams unable to access the building. About 88,000 Palestinians live in Khan Younis, which is also hosting an estimated 425,000 people displaced by fighting elsewhere in the strip. About 18,000 people were believed to be sheltering in the grounds of Nasser hospital alone, Ocha said, along with 850 patients.
"No one can enter or exit [Nasser] due to ongoing bombardments," the agency added, citing medics who also reported staff were digging graves in the hospital grounds"due to the large numbers of fatalities anticipated".
This story is from the January 25, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 25, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Unpaid carers 'It's been tough but politicians don't offer much'
Hilary Osborne looks at the struggle for family members who look after relatives, while Minreet Kaur writes about her own experience
Trevor McDonald was face of now-shelved NatWest share sale
A \"Tell Sid\"-style ad campaign featuring Sir Trevor McDonald was filmed to promote the government's now shelved plan to sell state-owned NatWest shares to the public, the Guardian can reveal.
The carbon cost of AI Green goals hit hard by drive to develop technology
If you want evidence of Microsoft's progress towards its environmental \"moonshot\" goal, look closer to Earth: at a building site in west London.
Tackle climate crisis and social injustice at the same time, Caroline Lucas tells Labour
Labour must combine tackling the climate crisis with pursuing social justice, if elected, to show achieving net zero will not be done \"on the backs of the poor\", the former Green party MP Caroline Lucas has warned.
Fighting talk The 82-year-old dedicated to teaching India's oldest martial art to women
Today the pupils are schoolchildren, mostly aged from seven up to teenagers.
'I don't leave my flat' The Ukrainians hiding or fleeing to avoid the frontline
The autumn cannot arrive soon enough for Dmytro, when his handlers have promised to get him out of Ukraine.
'It will be tight' Centrists make final effort to shore up support
Standing in a courtyard framed by the white walls of one of Marseille's Armenian churches, Sabrina AgrestiRoubache, France's secretary of state tasked with citizenship, took a deep breath, choosing her words carefully as she addressed a voter who had admitted that she was considering switching to the far right.
Man accused of Holly Willoughby plot spent '99.9% of time online'
A man accused of plotting to rape and murder Holly Willoughby has told a court he spent 99.9% of his time online as he struggled with mental health problems triggered by his lifethreatening weight gain.
Rushed, half-baked Has The Bear gone off the boil?
The first season of award-winning TV drama The Bear was incredibly stylish, overwhelmingly propulsive and filled with characters you found yourself rooting for.
Britain's gardeners embrace pond life as demand for aquatic plants grows
Apond boom is happening in Britain's gardens as people try to halt biodiversity loss by digging water sources for amphibians and other aquatic life.
