Hundreds of Palestinians have fled Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis after Israeli forces advanced deeper into the area.

The Israeli military said its ground forces “encircled” the city earlier this week after 24 of its soldiers were killed in the enclave in the largest single-day toll since October 7.

Khan Younis was designated by the Israeli army as a so-called “safe zone” for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who were forced to leave their homes in northern Gaza and Gaza City.

However, repeated Israeli bombardment and attacks in the south have resulted in widespread destruction and more displacement. Israeli forces targeted hospitals, ambulances and schools where thousands of civilians had been sheltering.

Gaza’s Ministry of Health has warned that Nasser Hospital and Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Younis are now in “grave danger”.

In Nasser Hospital, shrapnel that reached inside the buildings has threatened the lives of patients, medical staff and people sheltering there, it said.

On Tuesday, families once again picked up what was left of their belongings and fled towards the southern Rafah governorate, an already overcrowded area where disease is flourishing amid a lack of clean water, food, medicine and other basic supplies.

The cold winter months and rainy season have worsened the misery of the 1.9 million displaced Palestinians. Many have had to move repeatedly in search of relative safety, the United Nations has said.