Palestinians have fled regions to the east of Gaza’s second city, Khan Younis, after Israel issued evacuation orders.
Witnesses reported multiple Israeli attacks in and around Khan Younis throughout the night and into the morning.
According to medical sources and the Palestinian Red Crescent, eight people have been killed and more than 30 injured.
Patients and medical workers have also been departing the European Gaza hospital in the region after the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza ordered them to leave.
The Israeli military has not issued an evacuation order for the facility.
The Red Cross is said to have assisted patients in the process of relocating to another hospital.
Louise Wateridge, an official with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) in Gaza, questioned where people could go if they were forced to abandon their homes once more.
“In this area, people were already forced to survive in severely damaged, destroyed, and structurally unsafe buildings after the Rafah military operation,” she said.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) issued a statement regarding its latest operation in Gaza, stating that it was responding to around 20 rockets thrown from the Khan Yunis area towards Israel on Monday.
The IDF said Hamas was continuing to “systematically violate international law while using civilian infrastructure and the civilian population as human shields.”
The armed faction of Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for Monday’s strike, which was the largest bombardment launched into Israel from Gaza in months.
Much of Khan Younis was destroyed during Israel’s protracted offensive against Hamas earlier this year.
The city to which some of its citizens have now returned is practically unrecognisable. Nonetheless, many returned to seek refuge from Israel’s attack in Rafah.
Many people are fleeing once more, fearful of a huge new attack.
