"WE EAT ONE MEAL A DAY" SAY GAZANS AS DESPERATE GROUND FIGHTING CONTINUES AND EVEN INTENSIFIES

 Heavy fighting is taking place across Gaza, with house-to-house fighting reported as Israeli forces intensify their ground operation. Tanks are closing in on three areas - Khan Younis in the south and Jabalia and Shuja'iya in the north, where hundreds of thousands of civilians remain

1. The UN says 600,000 people are under evacuation orders in southern Gaza but "there is nowhere to go" because shelters are so full
2. On Tuesday, Israel said its troops had reached "the heart of Khan Younis" - the largest southern city - on the "most intense" day of fighting in its ground operation
3. Israel believes Hamas leaders could be hiding in the city - and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu insists the war can only be won with "crushing force"
4. The BBC has seen evidence of rape, sexual violence and mutilation of women during the 7 October Hamas attacks on Israel
5. The Hamas attack which sparked this war killed 1,200 people, with around 240 others taken hostage
6. Hamas officials in Gaza say at least 16,248 people have been killed in Israel's retaliatory campaign, including about 7,000 children.

7. IDF says it found one of the largest stockpiles of Hamas weapons

   

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   The IDF says it has found one of the largest stockpiles of Hamas weapons in the northern Gaza Strip comprised of hundreds of rockets, launchers, grenades, drones and explosive devices.

   The IDF spokesman for the Arabic media, Avichay Adraee, said the weapons were found near a clinic and a school.

   The IDF claimed to have found hundreds of missiles and launchers, dozens of anti-armour missiles, dozens of explosive devices, long-range missiles that were "directed to be launched towards the centre of the State of Israel", and dozens of hand grenades and unmanned aerial vehicles.

   "All weapons were seized by the forces, some of which were detonated in the field, while others were sent to follow up the investigation."

   He said the "terrorist infrastructure was found near civilian buildings within the civilian population" providing "further evidence of the terrorist organisation Hamas's ridiculous use of the residents of the Gaza Strip as human shields".

8. Fighting focuses on Khan Younis, but continues in north

9. After weeks of fighting focused on northern Gaza – particularly around Gaza City – much of Israel’s military campaign is now concentrated on the enclave’s south, and its largest city of Khan Younis.

   Israeli believes some senior Hamas leaders could now be hiding in the city, which is the hometown of the overall commander of the group's military wing, Mohammed Deif, and the group's leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar.

   People in Khan Younis - hundreds of thousands of whom were forced to flee northern Gaza earlier in the war - are being ordered by Israel to evacuate and head towards Rafah, on the border with Egypt, and the nearby al-Mawasi area on the coast.

   But Israel’s campaign also continues in the north, including around the Jabalia refugee camp - Gaza’s largest before the war - which Israel claims was being used by Hamas as a base. It’s unclear how many civilians remain at Jabalia, but it has been the target of Israeli air strikes in recent weeks.

   Another area of focus for Israel is around Shejaiya, regarded as another Hamas stronghold, close to Gaza City.

10. ‘Situation in Khan Younis dire and we don’t know where to go’
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    Sixty-year-old Khalil Ahmad abu Sulaym says the situation in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis is “dire”.

    “Last night we couldn’t sleep and even at this moment, we don’t know where to go. We’ve been displaced for 55 days,” he says.

    Khalil says he has moved to different parts of Khan Younis in efforts to find somewhere safer, but has not considered trying to flee the city despite “relentless bombing”.

    “I want to remain in Khan Younis until I am killed here. Even if they try to force me, I will not leave. Even if it means facing death,” he says.

    He adds that "nowhere in Gaza is safe".

    Yesterday, Israel said its troops had reached "the heart of Khan Younis" - the largest southern city - on the "most intense" day of fighting in its ground operation.

12. EVEN FULLER REPORTS AND MORE DETAILS AT: Israel-Gaza latest news: 'We eat once a day': Gaza civilians desperate as ground fighting intensifies - BBC News