Israel intensified the southern Gaza offensive, and the US and UN urged civilian protection. Israeli troops continued their air and ground bombardment of the southern Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths and injuries of scores of Palestinians. This occurred even though the United States and the United Nations repeatedly asked Israeli forces to protect civilians.

When Israel’s closest ally, the United States, was asked on Monday about the rising number of deaths that have occurred since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas broke down on Friday, the United States responded that it was too soon to say whether Israel was doing enough to protect civilians and that it expected Israel to refrain from attacking areas that it has specifically designated as safe.

The heavy Israeli air attacks on the south of the densely populated coastal enclave included sites where Israel had instructed civilians to seek refuge, according to residents and journalists who were there on the ground.

Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, made a plea to Israel to refrain from taking any more actions that might exacerbate the already precarious humanitarian situation in Gaza, which is under the control of Hamas, and to prevent people from experiencing any further pain.

The resumption of hostilities between Israel and Hamas has caused the Secretary-General to express deep concern. According to Stephane Dujarric, a spokesperson for the United Nations, “There is nowhere safe to go and very little to survive on for people who have been ordered to evacuate.”

Israel essentially seized the northern half of Gaza in November, and ever since a ceasefire that had been in place for a week came to an end on Friday, Israel has rapidly advanced deep into the southern half of Gaza.

The armed branch of Islamic Jihad, which is an ally of Hamas, reported that its members engaged in violent skirmishes with Israeli forces toward the north and east of Khan Younis, the most important city in Gaza’s southern region.

Residents of Gaza have reported that Israeli tanks have crossed the border into Gaza and shut off the primary road that takes them from north to south. According to the Israeli military, the principal route leading out of Khan Younis to the north “constitutes a battlefield” and has been closed down at this time.

Israeli military officials said on Tuesday that three of their troops had been killed in action in Gaza on Monday, after what Army Radio characterized as a day filled with intense engagements with Hamas gunmen. A total of seventy-eight troops have lost their lives in Gaza since the beginning of the ground incursion by the military.

As retaliation for a terrorist attack by Hamas over the border on October 7th that targeted border towns, kibbutzim, and a music festival, Israel launched its offensive to destroy Hamas. According to Israeli counts, the terrorists were responsible for the deaths of 1,200 people and the capture of 240 hostages, making it the worst single day in Israel’s history, which spans 75 years.

At least 15,899 Palestinians have been killed in eight weeks of fighting, according to the Gazan health ministry. Seventy percent of those murdered are women or people under the age of eighteen.

“Horrors from past weeks” are being repeated, according to Philippe Lazzarini, who is the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees in Gaza. This is because the resumption of Israel’s military operation is displacing people who had been displaced in the past, overcrowding hospitals, and further suffocating the humanitarian operation due to limited supplies.

“Two times over, we have stated this. Here, we are stating it once again. He made the statement. “There is no safe place in Gaza, whether it be in the south or the southwest, whether it be in Rafah or any unilaterally so-called ‘ safe zone,'” he stated.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), reaffirmed the appeals to Israel to safeguard people and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals.

On Monday, he issued a message on X, which was then known as Twitter, stating that the World Health Organization (WHO) had received word from the Israel Defense Forces that we should withdraw our goods from our medical warehouse in southern Gaza within the next twenty-four hours. This is because ground operations will render the facility useless.

IN AN ENCLAVE THAT IS OVERFILLED WITH PEOPLE

As much as eighty percent of Gaza’s population, which is estimated to be 2.3 million, has already evacuated their homes during the eight weeks of conflict that have caused widespread destruction throughout the congested territory.

It was on Monday that Israel issued an order to the Palestinians, instructing them to evacuate some areas of Khan Younis and directing them to go towards the Mediterranean shore and Rafah. This town is located close to the Egyptian border.

Gazans living in Khan Younis gathered their possessions and made their way to Rafah in a desperate attempt to escape. The majority were on foot, moving in a mournful and silent procession as they passed by structures that had been destroyed.

In Washington, a representative for the State Department stated that it was an “improvement” that Israel was only requesting evacuations in specific locations rather than entire cities.

According to Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor for the United States, Washington anticipated that Israel would refrain from bombing locations in Gaza that were designated as “no-strike” zones. According to him, the United States and Israel had discussed the length of time that the battle with Hamas should continue, but he declined to share the timeframe with the audience.

A senior Israeli official stated that although it was taking some time to order more precise evacuations to reduce the number of civilian deaths, Israel could not completely rule out the possibility of such evacuations occurring.

It was not we who initiated this conflict. Although we are sorry for the deaths of civilians, the official stated that to confront evil, it is necessary to carry out operations. During a seven-day ceasefire that took place a month ago, more than one hundred of the hostages that were taken by Hamas by Iran were released. One hundred thirty-seven captives are still held captive in Gaza, according to the Israeli authorities, while seven civilians and an army colonel have been killed in captivity.

Following the conclusion of the ceasefire on Friday, the Gazan Ministry of Health reported that about 900 Palestinians had been killed.

Israel accuses Hamas of endangering civilians by operating from places like tunnels that are only destructible by large bombs. This includes tunnels that are located in residential areas. Hamas asserts that they do not do so. According to a story that was published in the Wall Street Journal on Monday, which cited sources from the United States, Israel has installed a network of pumps that could be used to flood tunnels belonging to Hamas. According to the narrative, it was unclear if Israel would investigate the possibility of deploying the pumps before all of the hostages were released.

According to the health ministry located in Ramallah, Israeli troops in the West Bank were responsible for the death of one Palestinian man and the severe injury of another individual in more than one location on Tuesday.