Intense fighting in Khan Younis leave civilians scrambling for safety
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00:00 The streets of Khan Yunis lie deserted as Israeli troops run through debris and wreckage
00:05 amid sounds of gunfire. This video, released by Israel's army, shows soldiers raiding through
00:12 buildings like this one, which they claim is a Hamas battalion outpost. Israel has widened
00:17 its air and ground offensive in southern Gaza, specifically targeting Khan Yunis,
00:22 the childhood home of two key Hamas leaders.
00:26 "In Jabalia, Shejaya and the Khan Yunis area, we've broken through the defensive lines.
00:30 The terrorists are now emerging from the underground and are fighting against our
00:34 forces in face-to-face combat. Our forces are winning and have the upper hand."
00:38 Khan Yunis had been a designated safe zone of the Strip, where tens of thousands of displaced
00:44 Palestinians were sheltering, but the available safe areas are rapidly shrinking. The city is now
00:50 at the heart of intensified Israeli bombing as troops, tanks and bulldozers battle Palestinian
00:56 militants. The dead and wounded poured into the local Nasser Hospital following an Israeli
01:01 airstrike on Wednesday. "Suddenly while we were sitting, a bombing happened in our area.
01:08 All these people are already displaced people." The fighting has forced already displaced
01:12 civilians to flee again. Palestinians have crammed into even smaller areas like Rafa
01:18 by the Egyptian border, but the UN Humanitarian Office warns that a lack of tents has left many
01:23 sleeping rough. Others have gone to more desolate areas on Gaza's Mediterranean coast, like the
01:28 village of al-Mawassi, but face a severe shortage of shelter and food there. According to the UN,
01:34 for the past three days, relief workers have only been able to distribute supplies around Rafa,
01:39 but they remain limited to flour and water. Access to the rest of the Strip has been cut off by
01:45 violence, the World Food Program warns of an upcoming catastrophic crisis.