Medical facilities are at risk of collapse in Khan Younis, the southern Gaza city now at the focus of Israel’s offensive, the Gaza Health Ministry warned, as fighting raged across the Palestinian enclave.

According to Reuters, residents said Israeli planes and tanks also pounded areas in Gaza City to the north, where Israel has been pulling out troops. The fighting could be heard in the nearby towns of Beit Lahiya and Jabalia, near Gaza City.

Israel’s military said it was engaged in “intensive battles” in Khan Younis, where it said troops “eliminated terrorists and located large quantities of weapons”.

The armed wing of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fighters clashed with Israeli troops in several areas across the enclave overnight. Hamas’ armed wing said its fighters destroyed two Israeli tanks in Khan Younis.

Gaza Health Ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qidra said 165 Palestinians were killed and 290 wounded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total killed in Israeli strikes since the bombardment began to 26,422. Officials in the territory do not distinguish between fighters and civilians in their count.

One strike on a house in a suburb of Gaza City killed eight people, health officials said.

As night fell, Palestinian health officials said the number of Palestinians killed in an Israeli air strike on a multi-floor house in the Al-Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza rose to 20. The Israeli military said they were checking the report.

In western Gaza City, residents said Israel naval boats opened fire on beachfront areas, but no injuries were reported. In other parts of the enclave, residents reported intensified fighting amid heavier Israeli aerial attacks.

Opinion

Editorial

Some progress
Updated 27 Mar, 2025

Some progress

The hard-won macroeconomic stability is only a short distance away from a deeper crisis.
Time to talk
27 Mar, 2025

Time to talk

IN an encouraging development, the government has signalled openness to PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari’s ...
Black Sea truce
27 Mar, 2025

Black Sea truce

WHILE the Trump administration may have no problem with Israel renewing its rampage in Gaza, it is playing ...
Kabul visit
Updated 26 Mar, 2025

Kabul visit

Islamabad should continue to emphasise that presence of terrorists on Afghan soil stands in the way of normal commercial ties.
Drought warning
26 Mar, 2025

Drought warning

DRIVEN by rising temperatures linked to climate change, increasing drought events across Pakistan have affected tens...
Deadly roads
26 Mar, 2025

Deadly roads

DESPITE daytime restrictions on heavy vehicles, Karachi continues to witness one horrific traffic accident after...