Israel says Hamas fired rockets from nearby shelters in Gaza

The number of displaced people in Gaza now exceeds the population of Manhattan, and more than four times the population of Tel Aviv. All have ended up in an area that the United Nations estimates is less than a third of Gaza’s territory, and many have reported deadly attacks in areas they were told would be safe.

The United Nations has opposed the establishment of so-called safe zones in the enclave, on the grounds that no party to a war can unilaterally declare places completely safe for civilians. Trying to establish such zones in Gaza, U.N. officials said last month, could cause “unacceptable harm to civilians, including large-scale loss of life.”

U.N. officials have said civilians should take shelter in buildings such as schools and hospitals, which are protected by international humanitarian law, and that Israel should not attack such places.

Israel has accused Hamas of hiding command centers in civilian buildings, including schools and hospitals, and has declared some of them legitimate targets.

A government spokesman, Eylon Levy, said on Thursday that Israeli forces continued “close combat” in Khan Younis, the southern Gaza town where the army believes top Hamas commanders may be hiding.

On Thursday, the Israeli military said one of at least two soldiers killed in Gaza was the son of Gadi Eisenkot, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet. Master Sgt. Gal Meir Eisenkot, 25, was killed in Jabaliya, northern Gaza, the army said.

According to the Israeli army, almost a hundred soldiers have been killed in the war. More than 15,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s health officials. About 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack on October 7, Israel says.

Amid growing outrage over deteriorating conditions for civilians in the enclave, the Israeli government decided said it would allow “a minimal replenishment of fuel” in southern Gaza to “prevent a humanitarian collapse and outbreak of epidemics.” It did not specify how much fuel, or when supplies would be allowed in.