Israeli forces advance in south Gaza, more people displaced

CAIRO — Israeli forces sent tanks deeper into areas in the Gaza Strip's south on Sunday as fighting with Hamas-led militants raged, and Gaza health officials said Israeli military strikes had killed 66 Palestinians across the enclave in the past 24 hours.

Tanks pushed further into the three towns of Al-Karara, Al-Zanna, and Bani Suhaila, in the east of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, and medics said at least nine Palestinians were killed earlier on Sunday by Israeli military strikes in those areas.

Residents said fierce fighting could be heard in eastern areas of Khan Younis where the army was operating. The new incursions caused thousands more families to leave their homes and head to overcrowded areas in Al-Mawasi to the west, and north to Deir Al-Balah.

Later on Sunday, two separate Israeli air strikes on Khan Younis killed at least 15 Palestinians, medics said.

One air strike on a tent area in the Mawasi district killed five people including a four-month-old girl named Maria Abu Ziada. Al-Mawasi in western Khan Younis is a humanitarian-designated area where the Israeli army has been ordering Palestinians from other places to go.

The Israeli military said it was aware of the report and looking into it.

Another airstrike on a house at the centre of Khan Younis city killed 10 people, health officials said.

Over the past few days, Israel's military said the raid in eastern Khan Younis was in response to renewed attacks, including rocket firing, from those areas and to prevent Hamas from regrouping. It said its forces killed dozens of militants in the area and destroyed military infrastructure.

Meanwhile, in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, Israeli forces advanced deeper into northern parts of the city, where they have yet to take full control.

In Central Gaza, the Israeli military on Sunday called upon Gazans to evacuate parts of the Bureij and Shuhada areas. Residents were told to leave "immediately for their safety" and go to a humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi.

In the Tel Al-Hawa suburb of Gaza City, where Hamas' armed wing said fighters battled Israeli forces, an Israeli air strike killed four Palestinians, medics said.

On Sunday, CIA Director William Burns was expected to meet in Rome with his Israeli and Egyptian counterparts and Qatar's prime minister for talks on a Gaza ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas.

Hamas wants a ceasefire agreement to end the war in Gaza, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the conflict will stop only once Hamas is defeated.

Israeli public broadcaster Kan said Israel's response to the latest proposal was handed to Washington on Saturday ahead of the expected meeting - the latest effort to reach an agreement after months in which Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for the stalemate.

Israel said on Sunday it would strike hard against Hamas ally Hezbollah after accusing the Iranian-backed group of killing 12 children and teenagers in a rocket attack on a football pitch in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The attack escalated tensions in the hostilities, which have been fought in parallel to the Gaza war and have raised fears of a full-blown conflict between the heavily armed adversaries.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants.

Israel, which has lost 328 soldiers in combat in Gaza, estimates that fighters account for about a third of the Palestinians killed since it launched its offensive in response to a Hamas-led attack in southern Israel in October.

About 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage in the Oct. 7 attack, according to Israeli tallies. — Reuters