(BBC News) Israeli ground forces are pushing into southern Gaza, after three days of heavy bombardment.
Initial reports from Israeli army radio effectively confirmed Israel has launched a ground operation to the north of Khan Younis.
The head of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) later told troops the IDF was fighting “strongly and thoroughly” in south Gaza.
Lt General Herzi Halevi was speaking to reservists from the Gaza division about military objectives and the IDF’s killing of Hamas commanders.
He told the soldiers: “We fought strongly and thoroughly in the northern Gaza Strip, and we are also doing it now in the southern Gaza Strip.”
An IDF spokesman later confirmed Israel “continues to expand the ground incursion” across all of Gaza, including troops “conducting face-to-face battles with terrorists.”
Since a week-long ceasefire ended on Friday, Israel has resumed a large-scale bombing campaign on Gaza.
The seven-day truce saw Hamas release 110 hostages being held in Gaza in return for 240 Palestinians being released from Israeli prisons.
On Sunday morning, the Israeli army issued evacuation orders for several districts of Khan Younis, urging people to leave immediately.
Israeli authorities believe members of the Hamas leadership are hiding in the city, where hundreds of thousands of people have been sheltering after fleeing fighting in the north in the early stages of the war.