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Fighting rages on in southern Gaza

Scores killed, wounded as Israel launches ground assault on remaining few safe places in the enclave
AGENCIES
Israeli troops fought fierce battles with Hamas in southern Gaza yesterday after reaching the heart of the city of Khan Younis, forcing Palestinian civilians to seek refuge elsewhere as the number of safe areas decreases.
Israeli warplanes also bombarded targets in one of the heaviest phases of warfare since the Jewish country started its unprecedented attack on the enclave nearly two months since the Hamas-Israel war began.
Palestinian medics said hospitals were overflowing with dead and wounded civilians, many of them women and children. Hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes were seeking shelter in a decreasing number of safe areas.
Fuel and medical supplies have reached critically low levels at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza, and hundreds of patients need emergency care, Medecins Sans Frontieres said.
MSF emergency coordinator Marie-Aure Perreaut Revial said the hospital has been receiving on average 150 to 200 war-wounded patients daily since December 1.
The UN human rights chief Volker Turk yesterday said Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are living in “utter, deepening horror”, as he called for an urgent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli troops and tanks have pushed through to the southern part of the Gaza Strip after largely gaining control of the north. They have encircled Khan Younis in a surge of violence since a truce collapsed last week.
Israel said its forces were fighting fierce battles yesterday and had struck hundreds of targets in the enclave, including a Hamas cell near a school in the north, reports Reuters.
Hamas’ armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, also said its fighters were engaged in clashes with Israeli forces.
Hamas said it had killed or wounded eight Israeli soldiers and destroyed 24 military vehicles on Tuesday. Israel said 84 of its soldiers had been killed since the ground operation began five weeks ago.
More than 16,248 people including 7,112 children and 4,885 women had been killed in Gaza since Israel began offensive on October 7, according to Gaza health ministry.
Israel renewed its offensive last Friday after a week-long ceasefire, based on hostage release, broke down.
Hamas said there would be no more hostages released until Israel’s “aggression” stopped.
Violence has also flared in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. In the latest incident , two Palestinian teenagers were killed by Israeli troops in the city of Tubas yesterday.
Meanwhile, The US yesterday said it has imposed visa bans on people involved in violence in the West Bank after it appeal to Israel failed to do more to prevent attacks on Palestinians by Jewish settlers.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said Hamas fighters
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