ANKARA

The Israeli army on Friday reported launching a “military offensive” on the southern Gaza Strip area of Khan Younis.

The Israeli army claimed in a statement that the offensive is based on intelligence that indicates the presence of “Hamas and Islamic Jihad infrastructure, and operatives in southern Gaza Strip.”

The Israeli army has previously attacked the Khan Younis area crowded with displaced civilians under the same pretext.

Despite appeals on Thursday from mediators, including Egypt, the US, and Qatar, to stop hostilities, reach a cease-fire, and a hostages exchange agreement, Israel persists with its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip.

This escalation comes amid rising fears of a broader war, especially with the Lebanese group Hezbollah threatening military retaliation after the assassination of its top commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut on July 30, and Iran warning of retaliation following the assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, which was attributed to Tel Aviv.

The Israeli onslaught against the Gaza Strip has killed nearly 39,700 people since last October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi