Israel says it will increase military offensive in southern Gaza

[Eugene]

Source: The Guardian

Israel says it will increase military offensive in southern Gaza

Apartment block bombed, killing 26, in area civilians were urged to flee to for their safety

Emma Graham-Harrison and Jason Burke in Nablus
Sat 18 Nov 2023 17.32 GMT
Last modified on Sat 18 Nov 2023 17.40 GMT

Israel bombed an apartment block in southern Gaza early on Saturday, killing 26 people, soon after announcing plans to intensify operations in areas where the Israeli military had told civilians to flee for their safety.

In the north, a column of medics, patients and refugees trudged out of al-Shifa hospital, the biggest in Gaza, where Israeli troops spent a fourth day searching for evidence of a Hamas command node it claimed was buried below the wards.

Five doctors stayed behind, a skeleton staff to care for 120 patients too weak or ill to move. Hamas authorities claimed Israel’s military ordered everyone to leave the hospital. A spokesperson for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said they facilitated an evacuation requested by medical staff.

Those walking south under the tense gaze of Israeli troops, through a hellscape of tangled rubble that had been buildings two months ago, along roads shattered by weapons and churned to mud by tanks, had little hope of rest when they reached the south.

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Original Guardian link (registration required): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/18/israel-says-it-will-increase-military-offensive-in-southern-gaza