Israel tells Gazans to temporarily vacate southern Khan Younis areas

 The Israeli military told Palestinians to temporarily evacuate southern neighborhoods of Gaza's Khan Younis region so it could "forcefully operate" there, telling them to relocate to a humanitarian area in al-Mawasi, a statement from the military said on Saturday.

The fighting, more than nine months since the start of Israel's invasion of Gaza following the Oct. 7 attack, underlined the difficulty the Israeli army has in eliminating fighters of the militant Islamist group amid continued resistance.

On Friday the military said troops battled Palestinian fighters in Khan Younis, a city in the south of the enclave, and destroyed tunnels and other infrastructure, as they sought to suppress small militant units that have continued to hit troops with mortar fire.

More than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes in the enclave, according to Gaza health authorities, who do not distinguish between fighters and non-combatants.

Israeli officials estimate that some 14,000 fighters from militant groups including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, have been killed or taken prisoner, out of a force they estimated to number more than 25,000 at the start of the war.

The military said on Saturday its calls to evacuate were communicated to the population via several mediums in order to mitigate danger to civilians.

U.N. and humanitarian officials accuse Israel of using disproportionate force in the war, which it denies.

Israel's military blames Hamas for putting civilians in harms way, accusing it of operating within densely populated neighborhoods, schools and hospitals as cover, something the group denies.

Around 1,200 people were killed and 250 were taken hostage in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led raid on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies.