Israel orders evacuation of Khan Younis, the second largest city in the Gaza Strip.

KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip (AP) — The Israeli army on Monday ordered a mass evacuation of Palestinians from large parts of Khan Younis, a sign that troops are likely to launch a new ground assault on Gaza’s second-largest city.

The order suggests that Khan Younis will be the latest target of Israeli attacks on parts of the Gaza Strip that Israel previously occupied during the war to regroup Hamas militias. Much of Khan Younis was destroyed in a long assault earlier this year, but scores of Palestinians have returned to escape another Israeli offensive on Gaza’s southernmost town, Rafah.

The order came after Israel released the director of Gaza’s largest hospital. He had been detained for seven months without charge or trial on charges that the facility was being used as a Hamas command center. He and other Palestinian health officials have denied this. He said he and other detainees were held in harsh conditions and tortured.

The decision to release Mohammed Abu Selmia raised questions about Israel’s claims over Shifa Hospital, which Israeli forces have raided twice since the start of the war with Hamas.

His release sparked an outcry across Israel’s political spectrum, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya’s office calling it a “grave mistake.” Ministers and opposition leaders expressed outrage and insisted that Abu Selmia played a role in Hamas’s alleged use of the hospital – even though Israeli security services rarely release prisoners unilaterally if they suspect militant links.

Evacuation of Khan Younis

Monday’s evacuation order affected the eastern half of Khan Younis and a large part of the southeastern corner of the Gaza Strip. Earlier the same day, the army said that a hail of rockets had been fired from Gaza from Khan Younis.

The order suggests that a new assault on the city is imminent. Israeli forces fought for weeks in Khan Younis earlier this year and then withdrew after claiming to have wiped out Hamas battalions. But renewed attacks in other places where the military has made similar claims have underscored Hamas’ capabilities.

Last week, the military ordered the evacuation of the northern Gaza district of Shijaiyah, which sparked heavy fighting.

Netanyahu said on Monday that the military was “making progress in completing the phase of destroying the Hamas terror army,” but added that the forces would “continue to target its remnants in the future.”

Further fighting in the Khan Younis region could further complicate Palestinians’ access to much-needed drinking water. The evacuation zone also includes a water pipeline that Israel installed after criticism of its cutting off water supplies to the Strip at the start of the war.

Also in the zone is the area around the Kerem Shalom crossing, the main crossing point into southern Gaza, as well as an aid route within the area that Israel says it will protect.

Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have fled their homes, many of whom have been displaced multiple times. Israeli restrictions, fighting and the breakdown of public order have hampered the delivery of humanitarian aid, fuelled hunger among the population and stoked fears of famine.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the new evacuation order “shows once again that there is no safe place for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.” “It is another stop in this deadly cycle that the population of Gaza is regularly subjected to,” he said in a statement calling for a ceasefire.

Dismissal of the hospital director

The decision to release Abu Selmia and 54 other Palestinian prisoners to Gaza was apparently intended to free up space in overcrowded detention centers. Since the war began, Israeli forces have arrested thousands of Palestinians from Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Many of them are held in so-called administrative detention without charge or trial.

“Our prisoners were subjected to all kinds of torture behind bars,” Abu Selmia said at a press conference. “Torture was almost daily.”

He said guards beat prisoners with batons and terrorized them with dogs. He said some prisoners had limbs amputated due to inadequate medical care. He said a beating left his head bleeding and guards broke a finger.

The allegations could not be independently confirmed but were consistent with other statements made by Palestinians held in Israeli custody. There was no immediate reaction from the prison service, which has denied similar allegations.

In November, Israeli forces raided Shifa Hospital, claiming that Hamas had set up an elaborate command and control center there. Abu Selmia and other staff members denied the allegations and accused Israel of recklessly endangering thousands of patients and displaced people seeking refuge there. Abu Selmia was arrested on November 22.

Amid the uproar over Abu Selmia’s release, the various Israeli state agencies responsible for the detentions tried desperately to deflect blame.

Netanyahu’s office said Abu Selmia “belongs in prison” and that the prime minister had ordered a thorough investigation into the circumstances of his release. The decision was made “without the knowledge of the political level or the heads of the organizations.”

Itamar Ben Gvir, Israel’s far-right national security minister who controls the country’s police and prison system, blamed the Defense Ministry.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s office said the prison service and the Shin Bet domestic intelligence agency were responsible for releasing prisoners. The prison service said the decision was made by the Shin Bet and the army. It released a document ordering the release, signed by a general in the army reserve.

The Shin Bet said Abu Selmia had passed a risk assessment “compared to other prisoners.” It said the government had decided, contrary to its recommendation, to release prisoners deemed less of a threat to make room.

After the first raid on Shifa Hospital, the military discovered a tunnel underneath it leading to two empty rooms and evidence that militants had brought wounded hostages into the facility, but the evidence was not enough to prove the claimed large-scale base.

Israel has since raided other hospitals in Gaza on similar charges, forcing them to close or drastically reduce their services. The army raided Shifa for a second time earlier this year, causing severe destruction, after claiming militants had regrouped there.

Israel launched its offensive after the October 7 Hamas attack in which Palestinian militants killed around 1,200 people and took another 250 hostage across southern Israel. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, Israel has killed at least 37,900 Palestinians in its offensive. It did not say how many were civilians or fighters.

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Magdy reported from Cairo and Frankel from Jerusalem. Associated Press United Nations correspondent Edith M. Lederer contributed to the report.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war