KHAN YOUNIS: An Israeli military order to evacuate an area covering about 20 percent of central and south Khan Younis has sparked fear among civilians in the south of a further expansion of Israel’s military operation.

“A large number of people are going to be affected by this order and will end up being displaced,” Mahmoud said.

“The central part [of Khan Younis] is the heart of the city with the major public facilities, including part of the Ministry of Health’s operation centre, the Nasser hospital, the Jordanian field hospital and most of its residential buildings,” he added.

A UN agency urged Israel to launch an investigation into allegations that its army killed at least 11 unarmed Palestinian men in front of their family members in Gaza City, Anadolu Agency reports.

“The Israeli authorities must immediately institute an independent, thorough and effective investigation into these allegations, and if found to be substantiated, those responsible must be brought to justice and measures implemented to prevent any such serious violations from recurring,” the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said a report.

The Israeli military (IDF) reportedly raided the Al Awda building, also known as the “Annan building,” in the Al Remal neighborhood, where three related families were sheltering, in addition to the Annan family, according to OHCHR.

While in control of the building and civilians there, the army allegedly separated the men from the women and children, and shot and killed at least 11 men, mostly aged in their late 20s and early 30s, in front of their family members, OHCHR noted.