Hamas-run govt says 700 Palestinians killed in 24 hours as Israel intensifies operations across Gaza

More than 700 Palestinians were allegedly killed in Israeli air raids in the last 24 hours as the Israeli Army intensified strikes in southern Gaza.

Ismael al-Thawabteh, the director general of the government media office in Gaza, told Al Jazeera on Sunday (Dec 3) that over 700 Palestinians have been killed since Israel resumed bombardment after a seven-day truce ended on Friday.

Heavy bombardment was reported in and around the enclave’s second-largest city of Khan Younis as the military asked civilians to evacuate from the areas of the city and head south to Rafaj or the west.

1.8 million displaced, over 15,000 killed

As the Israeli strikes gained pace, the UN’s OCHA humanitarian agency revised its figure saying that an estimated 1.8 million people are internally displaced, up from a previous figure of 1.7 million.

Since the start of the war, 15,523 Palestinians had been killed, the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said, adding that 70 per cent of the dead were women and children.

An estimated 1.8 million people are internally displaced, up from a previous figure of 1.7 million, according to the UN’s OCHA humanitarian agency. Images showed Palestinians trying to leave parts of Khan Younis in line with Israeli demands to evacuate.

According to the Guardian news outlet, clashes were reported between Hamas and Israeli troops a mile from the city on Sunday night.

The Gaza Strip has been cut into three halves by the Israeli Army, with tanks bifurcating the road between Khan Younis and Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza.

Israel expands Gaza operations

Talking to reporters, a spokesperson of the Israeli military said that it has expanded its ground operation to all of Gaza.

“The IDF [Israel Defence Forces] continues to extend its ground operation against Hamas centres in all of the Gaza Strip,” spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters in Tel Aviv.

“The forces are coming face-to-face with terrorists and killing them.”

According to an Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy, the military has targeted more than 400 targets over the weekend “including extensive aerial attacks in the Khan Younis area” and had also killed Hamas militants and destroyed their infrastructure in Beit Lahiya in the north.

On Saturday night, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a press conference that he ordered the military to attack Gaza with “increasing force”, and reiterated that his country’s aim was to eliminate Hamas as a political and military force on the bombarded strip.

(With inputs from agencies)