GAZA, July 02 (BBC/Reuters): Palestinians have been fleeing districts to the east of Gaza's second city of Khan Younis after Israel issued evacuation orders.
Overnight and into the morning, witnesses reported multiple Israeli strikes in and around Khan Younis. A medical source and the Palestinian Red Crescent said eight people had been killed and more than 30 wounded.
Patients and medical staff have also been leaving the European Gaza hospital in the area, as the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza told them to evacuate.
The Israeli military has not itself issued an evacuation order for the hospital. The Red Cross is reported to have helped patients in the process of transferring to another hospital.
Louise Wateridge, an official with the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) in Gaza, asked where people could go as they were forced to leave their homes once again.
"In this area, people were already forced to survive in severely damaged, destroyed, structurally unsafe buildings after the Rafah military operation," she said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a statement on its latest operation in Gaza, saying it was responding to some 20 projectiles that were launched from the area of Khan Yunis towards Israel on Monday.
"Overnight, the IDF struck terror targets in the area from which the projectiles were fired, including a weapons storage facility, operational centres and additional terrorist infrastructure sites," it continued.
The IDF said Hamas was continuing to "systematically violate international law while using civilian infrastructure and the civilian population as human shields".
The armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad said it had carried out the attack on Monday, the biggest barrage launched into Israel from Gaza for months.
Australia senator pays price for
supporting Palestinian statehood
When Fatima Payman crossed the Senate floor to vote against her government she knew it would come with consequences.
The Australian Labor party has strict penalties for those who undermine its collective positions, and acts of defiance can lead to expulsion - a precedent with a 130-year history.
The last time one of its politicians tested the waters while in power was before Ms Payman was born. But last Tuesday, the 29-year-old did just that - joining the Green party and independent senators to support a motion on Palestinian statehood.
Officially the Australian government supports a two-state solution, but did not back the motion after trying - and failing - to insert a condition that any recognition should be "as part of a peace process".
Within hours, Ms Payman had been temporarily suspended from her party room, by the end of the week it would become indefinite - after she publicly vowed to cross the floor again if given the opportunity.
"By her own actions and statements, Senator Payman has placed herself outside the privilege that comes with participating in the federal parliamentary Labor Party caucus," a government spokesperson said.
Prime Minister and Labor leader Anthony Albanese was more concise: "No individual is bigger than the team."
© 2024 - All Rights with The Financial Express
