Israeli tanks are advancing deeper in southern Gaza, triggering new evacuation orders, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the conditions for a hostage exchange deal are “ripening.”
Israeli military officials said the latest deployment in Khan Younis, which is once again seeing intense fire, is necessary to prevent Hamas from regrouping in the southern hub.
“The Israeli Air Force and (Israel Defense Forces) artillery forces have struck more than 30 terror infrastructure sites in Khan Younis, including in the area from which a projectile was launched toward Nirim in southern Israel earlier today,” the military said.
The Jewish state issued a new set of evacuation orders on Monday and Tuesday, with the Hamas-run Ministry of Health reporting at least 70 deaths on Monday in the subsequent tank and aerial strikes in the area.
The health ministry, which does not differentiate between Hamas and civilians in its tallies, said another 200 people were wounded in the latest strikes.
The embattled UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said the strikes and evacuations have wreaked havoc in Khan Younis, which was housing hundreds of thousands of refugees displaced by the battles in the north.
“The situation is impossible,” the group said in a statement. “People are exhausted from the continuous displacement and unlivable conditions & they are trapped in increasingly small & overcrowded areas.”
The advancement in Khan Younis comes amid Netanyahu’s trip to the US, with the prime minister telling his entourage of former hostages and families of current hostages that a cease-fire deal with Hamas was close.
“The conditions (for a deal) are undoubtedly ripening. This is a good sign,” he said during a conference at the US capital.
The US-backed cease-fire proposal has regained steam in recent weeks as Israeli and Hamas negotiators hash out the specifics of the plan with Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
The plan, presented by President Joe Biden, seeks to immediately halt the fighting in Gaza and set the groundwork for an exchange to free the some 120 hostages still under Hamas captivity.
“Unfortunately, it will not take place all at once; there will be stages. However, I believe that we can advance the deal,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister is set to speak before Congress on Wednesday to discuss the war in Gaza, with Netanyahu then scheduled to meet with Biden before heading back to Israel by the end of the week.
Since dropping out of the 2024 election, Biden, 81, has thrown his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.
Harris, 59, will not attend Netanyahu’s speech to lawmakers due to a previously scheduled event in Indianapolis, Politico reported.
Instead, she will have a bilateral meeting with the prime minister, where she will reportedly express her view that it is time to end the nearly 10-months-long war, according to the Telegraph.
