(1 Jul 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Jerusalem – 1 July 2024
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1. SOUNDBITE (English) Joe Federman, The Associated Press:
"The Israeli military has ordered a mass evacuation from a large part of the southern Gaza City of Khan Younis. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen an evacuation order like this. Israel spent several months inside Khan Younis battling Hamas before withdrawing earlier this year. The latest order is a sign that Hamas has managed to regroup, and we could soon see Israeli forces moving back into Khan Younis and a resumption of heavy fighting. This is a pattern we’ve seen throughout this war, where the Israeli army returns to areas where it previously had declared victory over Hamas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that Israel is close to dismantling Hamas as an organised fighting force, but he does say that operations will continue against what he calls remnants of the Islamic militant group. That’s a sign that the type of fighting we’ve seen in recent months could soon be coming to an end, but the overall broader war could drag on for some time ahead."
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STORYLINE:
The Israeli army ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians from much of Khan Younis on Monday, a sign that troops are likely to launch a new ground assault in the Gaza Strip’s second largest city.
Much of Khan Younis was already destroyed in a long assault earlier this year, but large numbers of Palestinians have since moved back in to escape another Israeli offensive in Gaza’s southern-most city, Rafah.
Monday’s evacuation call covered the entire eastern half of Khan Younis and a large swath of the Gaza Strip’s southeast corner.
Earlier in the day, the army said a barrage of rockets out of Gaza was fired from Khan Younis.
The order suggested a new assault into the city was imminent.
Israeli forces fought for weeks in Khan Younis earlier this year and withdrew, claiming to have destroyed Hamas battalions in the city.
But in other places where the military made similar claims, renewed raids have underscored Hamas’ continued capabilities.
Last week, the military ordered an evacuation from the north Gaza district of Shujaiya, where there has been intensive fighting since.
An evacuation and eruption of fighting in the Khan Younis area could further hamper Palestinians’ access to much-needed potable water.
Included in the evacuation zone is a water line that Israel installed following criticism over its cutoff of water to the strip early in its campaign.
Also in the zone is the area surrounding the Kerem Shalom crossing, the major aid crossing to southern Gaza, as well as an aid route that Israel said it would safeguard to allow trucks carrying humanitarian aid to enter the strip.
Very little aid has entered the strip due to lawlessness along the aid route, and a new offensive would risk further harming aid efforts.
Israel launched its offensive after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people across southern Israel and took another 250 hostage.
In its campaign, Israel has killed at least 37,900 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or fighters.
Most of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have fled their homes, with many displaced multiple times.
Israeli restrictions, ongoing fighting and the breakdown of public order have hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid, fueling widespread hunger and sparking fears of famine.
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