1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Gaza: Civilians flee fighting in Khan Younis

Jessica Saltz
December 7, 2023

Fighting has intensified in and around Gaza's main southern city of Khan Younis. As the Israeli military expands its operations, thousands of civilians have been seeking refuge further south, where there's still no guarantee of safety.

https://p.dw.com/p/4Zthh

Women and children, sprawled across the hospital floor ...
 
... and families huddled in the corner, still covered in dust from the latest explosion.

The Nassar hospital in Khan Younis is running out of space to treat the many injured people who are constantly arriving. 

(Dr. Mohamed Matar)
"The situation is catastrophic in all senses of the word. The lack of medical tools and the resources means we can't treat people in this state."

Israel's military operation in and around Gaza's second largest city has intensified in recent days ... and the number of Palestinians killed and injured continues to rise.

Thousands are now fleeing Khan Younis to seek shelter even further south, but safety seems unreachable now.

Here in the southern city of Rafah, on the Egyptian border, recent arrivals were among those killed by a recent Israeli airstrike.

(Bassam al-Hobi)
"The house was targeted by three rockets. They targeted women and children, as you can see, and the displaced Palestinians who were told the south would be safe. The south is supposed to be safe. Our guests were displaced from Hamad to Rafah, where it is safe, and they were all killed."

As Israel focuses the new phase of its military operation on southern Gaza, the search for shelter from the conflict becomes harder every day.