Israeli tanks enter south of Gaza Strip

A number of Israeli tanks made their way into the south of the Gaza Strip near Khan Yunis on Monday, witnesses told AFP.

This comes after reports that Israel is set to start a ground offensive in the area soon.

Armoured personnel carriers and bulldozers were also seen in the besieged area.

Moaz Mohammed, 34, told AFP that the Israeli tanks are currently on the southern part of Salah al-Din road in the strip.

“They are holding Salah al-Din road on both sides and are now cutting it between Deir al-Balah (in central Gaza) and Khan Yunis, firing bullets and tank shells at cars and people trying to move through the area,” he explained.

In its most recent report, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA stated that around 1.8 million people in Gaza, which makes up around 75 percent of the population, are now displaced.

These civilians have been displaced to overcrowded and unsanitary shelters, according to the OCHA.

Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus said on Monday that Israel is not “trying to displace anyone”.

“We are not trying to move anybody from anywhere permanently,” he explained.

Many Palestinians are now living in fear repeat their generational trauma of the displacement of 760,000 Palestinians during the Nakba in 1948.