Israeli army engages in heavy fighting with Hamas in Khan Yunis

The Israeli army declared that it had "destroyed the Hamas defense lines" and "eliminated several terrorists". In addition, "30 tunnel entrances" were destroyed in the vicinity of Khan Yunis.

Hamas announced via the online service Telegram that its armed arm, the Essedin al-Qassam Brigades, was taking "violent action against the occupation forces".

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video message that the army had surrounded the house of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Khan Yunis. According to army spokesman Daniel Hagari, he is hiding "underground" in one of the tunnels. The 61-year-old Sinwar is considered one of the masterminds behind Hamas' unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7. He spent 23 years of his life in Israeli prisons.

Meanwhile, in the north of the Gaza Strip, the Israeli army said it had discovered a huge weapons cache "near a hospital and a school". It was "one of the largest weapons caches" ever discovered in the Gaza Strip, the military announced. It also said that three Israeli soldiers had been killed in fighting on Wednesday.

As the fighting intensifies, the residents of the Gaza Strip who have fled to the south are becoming increasingly distressed. "We are devastated and overwhelmed," a resident of Chan Junis told the AFP news agency. "We need someone to find a solution for us so that we can get out of this situation."

The Israeli army had initially concentrated its ground offensive on the north of the Gaza Strip and called on the population there to seek safety in the south of the coastal strip. Numerous people therefore fled to Chan Junis. According to UN figures, 1.9 million Palestinians have now been displaced within the Gaza Strip.

"Where should we go, for heaven's sake? We left Chan Junis Yunis and are now in tents in Rafah," Chamis Al-Dalu told AFP. He had initially fled from the city of Gaza to Chan Junis, but had to move on because of the fighting there.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned in a letter to the UN Security Council of a breakdown of public order in the Gaza Strip. This could make "even limited humanitarian aid" impossible, he added. In his letter, Guterres invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter, which allows the UN Secretary-General to address the Security Council. This was the first time in his term of office that Guterres had used this option.

In response to Guterres' letter, Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen declared on the online service X, formerly Twitter, that the UN chief was a "danger to world peace". "His request to activate Article 99 and the call for a ceasefire in Gaza constitute support for the terrorist organization Hamas," Cohen wrote.

Meanwhile, Israel's war cabinet announced that it would increase the import of fuel to the south of the Gaza Strip. In order to prevent a "humanitarian collapse" and the "outbreak of epidemics", a "minimal" increase in the amount of fuel has been approved, explained the office of Prime Minister Netanyahu in the online service X.

The war between Israel and the radical Islamic group Hamas has now been going on for two months. On 7 October, hundreds of fighters from Hamas, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the USA and the EU, invaded Israel and committed atrocities, mainly against civilians. According to Israeli reports, around 1,200 people were killed in Israel and around 240 people were taken hostage, some of whom were released during a week-long ceasefire.

According to Israeli information, 138 abductees are still being held by Hamas. They are being held captive under "brutal and inhumane conditions", said army spokesman Hagari. The military had "not lost sight of its mission to rescue our hostages".

According to the latest information from Hamas, which cannot be independently verified, more than 16,200 people have been killed in the Palestinian territory since the start of the war, most of them civilians.