Israeli forces battle Palestinian fighters in southern Gaza

By Nidal al-Mughrabi

CAIRO (Reuters) -Israeli troops backed by air strikes battled groups of Palestinian fighters around Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday, as they continued a week-long operation they said was meant to clear Islamist Hamas militants.

A week after ordering civilians to evacuate the area, tanks pushed into the towns of Al-Karara, Al-Zanna, and Bani Suhaila, east of Khan Younis, where medics said at least 34 Palestinians were killed by Israeli strikes.

Residents reported fierce fighting as thousands of Palestinians, many displaced multiple times, headed to the overcrowded areas in Al-Mawasi southwest of Khan Younis, and northwards to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

The days of fighting in Khan Younis underscored the fierce resistance Israeli forces have encountered almost 10 months after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct 7 that triggered Israel's campaign in Gaza.

Israel blames Hamas for concealing fighters in civilian areas and says its forces do everything possible to limit civilian casualties.

But the head of the United Nations relief agency for Palestinians, Philippe Lazzarini, said the evacuation orders by the Israeli military were compounding Palestinians' suffering.

"Quite often, people have just a few hours to pack whatever they can & start all over again, mostly on foot or on a crowded donkey cart for those who can afford it," he said in a post on the social media platform X.

One air strike on a tented area in Al-Mawasi, a district designated as a humanitarian safe zone where the army has told people to move to, killed five people including a four-month-old girl named Maria Abu Ziada, local media reported.

The Israeli military said it was aware of the report and looking into it.

The military launched the operation in Khan Younis in response to what it said were repeated attacks including rocket fire from armed fighters.

Fighting has also continued in other areas, including Rafah, close to the border with Egypt, in the Tel Al-Hawa suburb of Gaza City, in the north of the enclave and in central Gaza, where the military told people to evacuate and move to Al-Mawasi "immediately for their safety."

CIA'S BURNS MEETS NEGOTIATORS IN ROME

The fighting continued as negotiators from Israel, Egypt and Qatar met CIA Director William Burns in Rome where they discussed what Israel called "clarifications regarding the draft agreement that was conveyed from Israel."

Negotiations on the main issues will continue in coming days, a statement from the Israeli prime minister's office said.

Hamas wants a ceasefire agreement to end the war in Gaza, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the conflict will stop only once Hamas is defeated.

Israeli public broadcaster Kan said Israel's response to the latest proposal was handed to Washington on Saturday ahead of the expected meeting - the latest effort to reach an agreement after months in which Israel and Hamas have blamed each other for the stalemate.

Israel said on Sunday it would strike hard against Hamas ally Hezbollah after accusing the Iranian-backed group of killing 12 children and teenagers in a rocket attack on a football pitch in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The attack escalated hostilities, which have been fought in parallel to the Gaza war and have raised fears of a full-blown conflict between the heavily armed adversaries.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive in Gaza, according to local health authorities, who do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants.

Israel, which has lost around 330 soldiers in combat in Gaza, estimates that fighters account for about a third of the Palestinians killed since it launched its offensive in response to a Hamas-led attack in southern Israel in October.

About 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage in the Oct. 7 attack, according to Israeli tallies.

(Reporting by Nidal al-Mughrabi, Editing by William Maclean and Giles Elgood)