By Athena Papakosta

The bloodiest new phase of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war is unfolding centered on the second largest city in the Gaza Strip, Khan Younis.

The Israeli army has announced that its ground forces have now moved into the “heart of the city”, which has become the first target after Israel’s decision to expand its military operations to the southern part of the Palestinian enclave.

According to the Israeli armed forces, yesterday was marked by the heaviest fighting since the start of its military operations in the Gaza Strip five weeks ago.

Eyewitnesses say that in Khan Younis, a school that has been turned into a shelter for hundreds of displaced persons was targeted while, a few kilometers north, in the city of Deir al-Balah, in the central part of the Palestinian enclave, at least 34 people were killed, among them six children. after a bombardment of a house in which dozens of displaced persons had taken refuge. At the same time, the fighting is also raging in the north, with Israel reporting that its forces are now also operating in the heart of Jabaliya and Sujaiya, having secured several Hamas strongholds.

The Israeli army is again calling for the nearly 80% of the population – already displaced – to move to other areas, further south in the Gaza Strip triggering a new wave of displacement and thus further exacerbating the already existing humanitarian crisis with the UN warns of a scenario from hell with the distribution of supplies – mainly water and flour – becoming possible only in the town of Rafah, where the fighting has not yet reached. At the same time, international organizations warn that if the Israeli army continues its operation towards the south there will be no safe place for the displaced,

Israel accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields with Army Chief of Staff Herji Halevi acknowledging that Israeli forces are hitting urban infrastructure hard as what he says are militants of the Islamist Palestinian group hiding weapons in them and dressing up in civilian clothes to attack the Israeli army.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Tuesday that the Israeli military will maintain control of the Gaza Strip for as long as necessary after the end of the war, with his comments hinting at an outright Israeli occupation of the Palestinian enclave, which they oppose. the United States of America. According to Netanyahu, however, only the Israeli army can guarantee that the Gaza Strip will remain demilitarized, emphasizing that he is not ready to close his eyes and accept any other settlement.