On Wednesday the Jordanian army said its military field hospital in Khan Younis had been severely damaged due to Israeli shelling in the area and that it held Israel responsible for a "flagrant breach of international law," reported the BBC.
Israeli army tanks and vehicles deploy along the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel on October 13, 2023. Thousands of people, both Israeli and Palestinians have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants entered Israel in a surprise attack leading Israel to declare war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip enclave on October 8.
Residents of Khan Younis in southern Gaza say they have faced one of the most intense nights of air strikes since the start of Israel's offensive.
"This is the loudest sound of armed clashes [between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian fighters] that I've ever heard," Yasser Zaqzouq, who has been sheltering at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis with his family, told the BBC.
A woman in southern Gaza, who insisted on anonymity, said children could not sleep "because of the sounds of missiles".
"We are living in fear and terror," she told the BBC, adding that many of the children had begun to wet themselves out of fear.
Israel's Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, has said that the intense stage of Israel's military operations against Hamas would "soon" wind down in the South of Gaza, including Khan Younis. According to the BBC, Gallant said that the military had already switched to more targeted action in the north, where it began its ground offensive.
Israeli Tanks' Return Raises Concerns
However, in recent days, the return of Israeli tanks to parts of the north that ground forces had previously left has led some Gazans - who had been planning to return home - to reconsider the move. Military officials in Israel have persistently warned that the war on Gaza will continue for months.
Explosions and damage from shelling and air strikes have left only about a third of Gaza's hospitals operational and some only partially, said Reuters. People in and around another hospital, Nasser, fled as tanks approached the district overnight following an Israeli army statement that it had come under fire from the area. Hamas militants deny using health facilities for military operations, the news outlet continued.
Reuters further disclosed that Palestinian health officials reported seven people were killed by Israeli air strikes that damaged homes near the hospital. Many of the Nasser hospital staff have left for shelters further south, with just one doctor for more than 100 burn victims remaining, Sean Casey, World Health Organisation emergency medical teams coordinator in Gaza, said on Jan. 9.
