26 January 2024
Thousands of Palestinians fled the city of Khan Younis westward toward the Mediterranean coast on Thursday, as fighting between Hamas and the Israeli army intensifies in southern Gaza, said an AP report.
Two women who spoke with an Associated Press contributor said Israeli troops forced them to evacuate from the Faisal school, where they were sheltering, and detained many of the young men.
“Suddenly, they (the Israeli military) started calling from the microphones to evacuate the site within half an hour,” said Amal, a Palestinian mother who gave birth three days ago and fled the school with her newborn.
According to the AP report, for weeks, Khan Younis has been one of the frontlines of the war between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters, a conflict now entering its fourth month. On Wednesday, the Israeli army ordered Palestinians to evacuate western areas of Khan Younis, the day after it said its forces had completely encircled the city.
“They allowed us to leave, and they made us walk a certain distance, and they took the young men and searched them on the side,” said Israa Khashan, who was also sheltering at the school.
“They took some young men with them and left others, and now we are here, not knowing where to go,” she said.
Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians are currently living in tents without basic services in Muwasi, a sandy area along the coast southwest of Khan Younis that Israel had declared a safe zone.
The Israeli forces have been detaining young Palestinian men of fighting age in Gaza. A number of videos have surfaced showing detained Palestinian men blindfolded and stripped to their underwear after being captured by Israeli forces, added the report.
