Key Points
- Israeli forces have surrounded one of Gaza's main cities during one of the most intense days of combat in five weeks.
- Israel urged Palestinians to evacuate zones it marked on maps, made available online.
- Experts have suggested Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hoped for Egypt to open its borders to refugees.
Nearly two million residents of the Gaza Strip have been displaced by war, the United Nations said, as questions have been asked about what the next phase of the war will involve.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) declared a "second stage" before storming southern Gaza's main city Khan Younis this week, in a ground offensive that has escalated since the end of for
More than 900 people were killed by Israeli air strikes over the weekend, according to Gaza health authorities, after the
Israel urged Palestinians to evacuate zones it marked on maps, made available online through a QR code, but human rights groups argued that many couldn't access the advice due to lack of electricity and widespread internet blackouts.
In a letter to the president of the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: "Nowhere is safe in Gaza."
Residents have now been advised to stay indoors, as the IDF engaged in the "most intense day" of fighting on the ground in five weeks, according to Israeli General Yaron Finkelman.
So where has the IDF expanded its operations to?
Has Israel started a second phase?
The commander of Israel's armoured corps, Brigadier-General Hisham Ibrahim, told Israel's Army Radio the military had "almost met" its goals in northern Gaza and could now concentrate on other parts of the strip to "topple the Hamas terrorist group".
Israeli forces, backed by warplanes, have since reached the heart of Khan Younis in southern Gaza and surrounded the city. The area was previously a safe zone and contained 34 shelters for displaced persons run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees.
Both the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the UN estimate between 30 to 40 per cent of people killed by Israeli airstrikes were in southern governorates before the declared second phase.
A woman mourns over the body of a relative who was brought to the Nasser hospital after the Israeli airstrikes at the end of the week-long ceasefire in Khan Yunis, Gaza, on 1 December. Source: Getty / Anadolu
"Israel sees this as a new phase because of the operational differences that having a ground force in the south elucidates, rather than expanding who they are attacking," he said.
Thomas said that alongside tanks and troops, we can expect the use of 'bunker buster' bombs, provided to Israel by its ally the United States, which are made to penetrate hardened structures.
Anas Iqtait, a lecturer at the Australian National University Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, said while fighting had intensified, he expected a similar result to Israel's efforts in the north.
"Obviously the level of devastation to both public and civilian infrastructure is there, but with regards to achieving its military objectives, primarily by preventing Hamas or stripping Hamas from its ability to resist militarily is yet to be seen in the northern parts of the Gaza Strip."
The United Nations estimates 234,000 homes have been damaged and 46,000 destroyed, accounting for a housing stock loss of 60 per cent.
Israel has said it is open to "constructive feedback" on reducing harm to civilians as long as the advice is consistent with its aim of destroying Gaza's ruling Islamist movement.
Its aim is retribution for who rampaged through Israeli towns, killing 1,200 people and seizing 240 hostages, according to the Israeli government.
The 7 October attack marked the latest escalation in a long-running conflict.
that has gained power in the Gaza Strip since winning legislative elections there in 2006.
Its stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state, while refusing to recognise Israel’s right to exist.
Hamas, in its entirety, is designated as a terrorist organisation by countries including Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Other countries list only Hamas' military wing as a terrorist group.
In 2018, the United Nations General Assembly voted against a resolution condemning Hamas in its entirety as a terrorist organisation.
What is the state of safe zones in Gaza?
Iqtait said there is no such thing as a "safe zone" in any part of Gaza, sentiments echoed by
Iqtait said a map issued by the IDF cutting up the Gaza Strip into hundreds of blocks was "ridiculous" and for the consumption of international media and governments.
"Quite frankly, the problem with this map is that it doesn't guarantee that the blocks that the Israeli defence forces are saying are going to be safe," Iqtait said.
A map provided by the IDF dividing Gaza into blocks. An expert says there's no guarantee areas deemed 'safe zones' will be safe. Credit: Twitter/IDF
Since 7 October, more than 16,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes and other actions, and the toll is rising each day, according to Gaza health officials. Thousands more are missing and feared buried under rubble.
US State Department spokesman Matt Miller told reporters this week that requests for evacuations were "much more targeted" in the south, saying Israel had identified specific neighbourhoods where they planned operations "rather than telling an entire city ... to vacate their homes.
"So that is an improvement on what's happened before. They have instructed them to move to areas that we know are deconfliction zones."
Israeli forces resumed military strikes on Gaza after a week-long truce expired on 1 December. Source: AAP, Supplied / Mohammed Saber
Where will Gazans go?
Both experts suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hoped for Egypt to open its borders to refugees, as Israeli bombardments drove 80 per cent of Gaza's 2.3 million residents from their homes.
"The only area south of the Gaza Strip is Egypt. And the Egyptians remain very adamant about them closing the border and not allowing a political solution for Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in Jerusalem at the expense of the Egyptians," Iqtait said.
Thomas said: "They (Egypt) don't want to open the border to Palestinians, that's pretty clear."
A UN commission of inquiry found in 2022 the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory was unlawful. Then-Israeli prime minister Yair Lapid disputed the claim.
The IDF has declared al-Mawasi, a strip of coastline in the south, a humanitarian safe zone since October. The World Health Organization (WHO) labelled the declaration a "disaster" in November.
"Attempting to cram so many people into such a small area with such little infrastructure or services will significantly increase risks to health for people who are already on the brink," WHO said on X.
UNICEF communications chief James Elder said the zone lacked water, sanitation and shelter after reporters deemed it a "desolate wasteland".
"The only possible way to create safe spaces in Gaza that are truly safe, that protect human life, is for the hell to stop raining down from the sky,” Elder said.
Jordan's King Abdullah said the world should condemn any attempt by Israel to create conditions that would forcibly displace Palestinians within the war-devastated Gaza Strip or outside its borders.
John Kirby, the White House national security spokesman, said: "The president maintains his position that reoccupation by Israeli forces is not the right thing to do."
- With additional reporting by Reuters
