The Israeli military has told Palestinians to temporarily evacuate southern neighbourhoods of Gaza’s Khan Younis region so it could “forcefully operate” there, telling them to relocate to a humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi, Reuters quote a military statement as saying.

The military said its calls to evacuate were communicated to the population via several mediums in order to mitigate danger to civilians. UN and humanitarian officials accuse Israel of using disproportionate force in the conflict, which it denies.

The fighting, more than nine months since the start of Israel’s invasion of Gaza following the Oct 7 attack, underlined the difficulty the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) have in eliminating Hamas fighters amid continued resistance.

Israeli officials estimate that some 14,000 fighters from groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad have been killed or taken prisoner, out of a force they estimated to number more than 25,000 at the start of the offensive.