Israeli military division announces end to a major military operation in Gaza
Israel’s 98th division has wrapped up operations in Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis, according to the military. During its monthlong mission, the division’s forces “eliminated” more than 250 fighters and destroyed dozens of enemy sites, the Israeli military said.
The announcement comes amid reports from Khan Younis that Israeli forces have pulled out of certain areas in the city, leaving a trail of destruction and bodies in the streets.
Israeli army says civilians can return to al-Qarara in Khan Younis
A boy gestures as he stands among rubble after Israeli forces withdrew from the area, following an Israeli ground operation in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, August 30
The Israeli army has said Palestinians can go back to the neighbourhoods of Hamad, al-Jalaa and al-Qarara in Khan Younis as troops have completed operations in these areas.
The neighbourhoods had been evacuated as the military started an operation in Khan Younis and was temporarily removed from, what the military calls, the humanitarian zone.
Colonel Avichay Adraee, the army’s Arabic-language spokesman, said the areas in question are again be considered part of the zone.
Israel has a long history of bombing so-called “safe zones”, and shrinking them with evacuation orders during its war on Gaza. Major international humanitarian NGOs have agreed that there is no safe place in Gaza, despite Israel’s claims.
Air strikes continue in central Gaza, children among victims
The Israeli military’s withdrawal tactics are very familiar. They are misleading, vague and contradictory.
Not all air strikes have ceased. In one area of central Gaza, the military partially withdrew. But further to the north of the central area, attack drones shot at people, whether they were standing in front of their homes or going about their daily business.
In just the past hour or so, 10 people killed or injured have been brought to the hospital. They were hit by flying shrapnel. Two of them are dead and four are in a critical condition.
One of them, a child, could not even be photographed because his head was blown off. This is an example of things we cannot show because of how graphic they are. But they are scenes we are witnessing on a daily basis.
