Israel encircles Southern Gaza’s Khan Younis

‘Over the past day, troops… have encircled Khan Younis and deepened the operation in the area,’ reads a statement issued by Israeli military

The Israeli military said Tuesday its troops had encircled the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, which has been the epicenter of clashes in recent weeks.

“Over the past day, troops… have encircled Khan Younis and deepened the operation in the area,” a military statement said of the densely populated city where Hamas’s Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar was born.

Last week, Israel launched an attack on Khan Younis, which it claims is the principal headquarters of the Hamas militants responsible for the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel that killed over 1,000 people.

Israel has been waging a war on Gaza for months, resulting in the deaths of over 25,000 Palestinians.

In a recent development in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, Israel had earlier presented a proposal to Hamas through Qatari and Egyptian mediators. The proposal outlines a multi-phase deal that could potentially lead to a two-month pause in the fighting. Notably, this is the longest cease-fire period that Israel has offered since the conflict’s inception.

The key elements of the proposal include the release of all remaining hostages held in Gaza, with the process unfolding in several phases. Currently, over 130 hostages are still in captivity, and Israeli officials have reported the unfortunate deaths of several dozen hostages since Oct 7.

Source: AFP