Israeli forces deepened an operation in the Gaza Strip's largest city in what the military said was meant to weed out Hamas, sending thousands of Palestinians fleeing on Monday from an area already ravaged in the early weeks of the nine-month-long war,
AP reports.
The incursion into eastern Gaza City expands Israel’s engagement in the beleaguered territory's north, an area Israel said it had seized control of months ago. Pockets of Hamas resurgence have scaled back Israeli military gains and drawn forces back into such operations. Israel had ordered evacuations in the area before the raid, the military said.
Heavy fighting in the war's first weeks all but emptied Gaza City and its environs, and the Israeli military has prevented most people from returning to their homes. But several hundred thousands of Palestinians remain, living in the shells of their homes or shelters. The fresh fighting meant new displacement.
“We fled in the darkness amid heavy strikes,” said Sayeda Abdel-Baki, a mother of three who was sheltering at her relatives’ home in the Daraj neighborhood. “This is my fifth displacement.”
Residents reported artillery and tank fire, as well as airstrikes. Gaza's Health Ministry, which has limited access to the north, did not immediately report casualties. The Hamas-run Civil Defense said the area was inaccessible because of the fierce clashes.
