What is the situation in Gaza’s Khan Younis as Israel intensifies attacks?

Since the one-week truce in Gaza ended on December 1, Israel has expanded its offensive to the besieged enclave’s south, where more than a million Palestinians sought shelter following Israeli bombardment in the north.

Israel has intensified attacks on Khan Younis declaring it a “dangerous combat zone”. Gaza’s second-largest city, which was dubbed a safe zone in the initial days of the war, is now a scene of devastation and suffering. Fear of Israeli strikes haunts people while lack of food and other basic amenities have driven people to misery amid bloody street fighting.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to attack northern Gaza, raiding the Kamal Adwan Hospital on Tuesday.

Here is what is happening in Khan Younis and the rest of southern Gaza.

What is happening in Khan Younis?

Two people were killed in Khan Younis in Israeli artillery shelling on Tuesday.

A bicycle was reportedly hit on Sunday in the centre of Khan Younis, killing two Palestinian children who were riding it, according to the UN humanitarian agency OCHA.

The city has been hit by air strikes and fire belts, causing casualties and injuries. Injured Palestinians were largely taken to the Nasser and European hospitals in the city, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant pushed back against international calls on Monday to wrap up the country’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip, saying the current phase of the operation against the Hamas group will “take time”.

How many people fled to Khan Younis?

Over one million Palestinians have been displaced from northern Gaza since October 13, when the Israeli military ordered people to evacuate to the south on a 24-hour notice.

More than 215,000 displaced Palestinians took shelter in dozens of UNRWA shelters in Khan Younis.

However, on December 3, Israel ordered an immediate evacuation of about 20 percent of the city, which was home to more than 400,000 people before the war erupted on October 7. The area marked for evacuation included 21 shelters and 50,000 internally displaced people, mostly from the north of Gaza, according to OCHA.

Several of those who were displaced to Khan Younis had to further move to Rafah city near the Egyptian border, some even moving for the fourth time since the outbreak of violence.

Now, thousands of displaced people from Khan Younis itself, as well as the north of Gaza are squeezed in the dangerously overcrowded al-Fukhari, south of Khan Younis. Hospitals and schools in the area are filled beyond capacity, as the Israeli army continues to order Palestinians to move further south.

Shrinking space and the rising danger of health issues and infections due to the lack of water have been an increasing cause for concern.