Israel Shifts Military Focus From Khan Younis To Rafah In Gaza Conflict

Israel's military announced on Sunday that it had withdrawn its forces from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, marking a key phase in its ground offensive against the Hamas militant group.

However, defence officials said troops were merely regrouping as the army prepares to move into Hamas' last stronghold, Rafah.

Israel Shifts Military Focus From Khan Younis

"The war in Gaza continues, and we are far from stopping," said the military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi. Israel has been vowing a ground offensive in Rafah for weeks, but the city shelters more than half of Gaza's population, raising global alarm about the protection of civilians.

The withdrawal comes as Israel and Hamas marked six months of fighting. Military officials said a "significant force" remained in Gaza to continue targeted operations, including in Khan Younis, a Hamas stronghold and hometown of the group's leader, Yehya Sinwar.

The six-month mark has been met with growing frustration in Israel, where anti-government protests have swelled and anger is mounting over what some see as government inaction to help free about 130 remaining hostages. Negotiations for a cease-fire in exchange for the hostages' release were expected to resume in Cairo on Sunday.

An Israeli delegation led by the head of the Mossad intelligence agency was going to Cairo, according to an Israeli official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the matter with the media.

Concerns about a wider regional conflict continued as a top Iranian military adviser warned Israel that none of its embassies were safe following last week's strike in Damascus — blamed on Israel — that killed two elite Iranian generals and flattened an Iranian consular building.

Israel has not directly acknowledged its involvement. "None of the embassies of the Israeli regime are safe anymore," Gen. Rahim Safavi, a military adviser to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim agency.