Thousands flee Khan Younis ruins again; Israeli raids kill 20

CAIRO/GAZA: Israeli tanks Friday returned to the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, forcing families to evacuate along congested roadways, as Palestinian fighters continued to attack Israeli troops, residents and the military said.

Later in the day, an Israeli airstrike killed six Palestinians in Al-Mawasi, medics said. Another strike on a house nearby killed four people, including a girl and wounded several others, they added. Gaza's health ministry said Israeli military strikes in central and southern parts of the enclave had killed at least 20 Palestinians so far on Friday.

In recent weeks, Israeli forces have been returning to the ruins of areas where they said they had defeated Hamas fighters. In the latest assault, the Israeli military dropped leaflets ordering residents and displaced people sheltering in eastern Khan Younis, Gaza's main southern city, to evacuate from an area that has already seen repeated waves of fighting.


Thousands fled eastern Khan Younis in vehicles and on foot, belongings heaped on donkey carts and motorcycle rickshaws as they made their slow escape along congested roads. Families packed into buses and cars, many seeking shelter in Al-Mawasi, a sandy stretch of ground along the coast, though some expressed fear over attacks there even though it is designated as a safe zone by Israeli forces.

Um Raed Abu Elyan said she and her family were "running from the fire, we are running with our children from fear".

New round of peace talks
With Israel and Lebanon braced for a possible escalation in fighting, leaders from the United States, Egypt and Qatar tried to revive efforts to halt the fighting in Gaza, scheduling a new round of talks for August 15.

The Israeli prime minister's office said a delegation would be sent to the talks but declined to give further details. A Hamas official told Reuters the Palestinian armed group was "studying" the new offer for talks, refusing to elaborate.