Khan Younis Is Surrounded — Is This Gaza’s Decisive Battle Or Prelude To Ceasefire?

-Analysis-

The name Khan Younis sounds like a threat to the Israeli army. It already occupied this same Palestinian refugee camp in the southern Gaza Strip in 1956, then again in 1967, only to evacuate it in 2005, and return again and again.

Yesterday, the Israeli General Staff announced that it had surrounded Khan Younis, a town that had some 200,000 inhabitants before October 7, and has many more since hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced by Israel to move southwards. Thousands of civilians were trying to flee the town yesterday, fearing heavy urban fighting with heavy casualties.

This tangle of overcrowded alleyways also conceals part of the underground infrastructure of Hamas, whose stronghold is Khan Younis. Israel also hopes to capture or kill the main leaders of the Islamist movement, including Yahya Sinwar, a native of Khan Younis, who escaped 100 days of tracking.

Toughest battle to date

The Khan Younis siege undoubtedly marks the start of the toughest battle since the war began. Official Israeli statements say they are determined to see this operation through, despite the ever-increasing cost.

The encirclement of Khan Yunis contradicts the idea of a new, more targeted phase, the announcement of which was primarily intended to respond to U.S. pressure.

It should be noted that the continuation of the offensive follows the heaviest death toll recorded in a single day by the Israeli army: 21 reservists were killed on Monday as they were preparing explosives to destroy buildings 600 meters from the Israeli border. A Hamas rocket blew the whole thing up. Three parachute officers were killed the same day in Khan Younis. Israel has lost 219 soldiers since the start of this war.

The same type of operations continue, even though they have already claimed the lives of more than 25,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-controlled Palestinian Ministry of Health, which are accepted as a reference by humanitarian organizations. Every day, between 100 and 150 deaths are added to this death toll, the majority of whom are civilians, including thousands of children.

Responding to calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli government said yesterday that there was no question of stopping until Hamas’ capabilities are eliminated.

A gulf between two positions

Despite the intensity of the fighting, negotiations are still being held over the fate of the hostages: in fact, they never stopped. They are being conducted through the usual channels, Qatar and Egypt. But there has been no progress since the 10-day truce in November, when hostages were exchanged for prisoners. All that has happened is an operation to deliver medical supplies to the hostages, with the support of France.

Several proposals are under discussion, according to fragmentary information: one by Israel, calling for a two-month truce in exchange for all hostages; while Hamas is demanding the release of all Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, and the withdrawal of the army from Gaza. A gulf separates these two positions.

The war for now continues unabated, even if there is a less pessimistic scenario: that the battle of Khan Younis will be the last one before the conditions for a ceasefire are met.