GAZA: Dozens of Israeli tanks rolled into southern Gaza on Monday, witnesses said, despite global concern over mounting civilian deaths and fears the war will spread elsewhere in the Middle East.
Weeks after Israel sent ground forces into northern Gaza, the army has been air-dropping leaflets in parts of the besieged territory's south, telling Palestinians to flee to other areas.
Tanks, armoured personnel carriers and bulldozers were seen on Monday near the city of Khan Yunis, which is crowded with internally displaced Palestinians, witnesses said.
Amin Abu Hawli, 59, said the Israeli vehicles were two kilometres inside Gaza in the village of al-Qarara, while Moaz Mohammed, 34, said Israeli tanks were moving down the strip's main north-south highway, the Salah al-Din road.
The Palestinian health ministry in the Gaza Strip on Monday said 15,899 people had died in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war with Israel, with 42,000 wounded.
Among the victims, 70 per cent were women and children, it added
The military was trying to cut the road between Deir al-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Yunis, "firing bullets and tank shells at cars and people trying to move through the area," Mohammed said.
Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said that the army "continues to expand its ground operation in the Gaza Strip".
"Wherever there is a stronghold, the IDF operates," he added.
Full-scale fighting resumed on Friday after the collapse of a week-long truce brokered by Qatar, the United States and Egypt, during which the earring sides had exchanged scores of hostages and prisoners.
Air strikes have since intensified in Gaza's south, said James Elder, a spokesman for the United Nations children's agency Unicef.
"Despite what has been assured, attacks in the south of Gaza are every bit as vicious as what the north endured," he posted on Monday on X, formerly Twitter.
"Somehow, it's getting worse for children and mothers."
In the southern Gazan city of Rafah, resident Abu Jahar al-Hajj said that his home had been rocked by an air strike that felt "like an earthquake".
"The earth shook, and the sound was so loud. Pieces of concrete started falling on us," he said.
Israel's ally the United States has intensified calls for the protection of Gaza's civilians, with Vice President Kamala Harris saying that "too many innocent Palestinians have been killed".
A White House official said on Sunday the United States believes Israel is "making an effort" to minimise civilian casualties in Gaza. — AFP
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