Heavy fighting reported in southern Gaza's Khan Younis as IDF intensifies assault

Feb. 26 (UPI) -- The Israeli military says it is intensifying its battle against Hamas militants in the southern Gaza Strip around the key city of Khan Younis as it seeks to seize weapons and uncover hidden infrastructure.

The Israel Defense Forces conducted what it called clearing operations in western and eastern Khan Younis as fighting that has escalated in the last week continued across the area on Monday.

The IDF said a "terrorist compound" in Khan Younis was targeted in an airstrike, which produced secondary explosions that it said indicated Hamas fighters were "carrying numerous weapons."

"Our troops located weapon parts along with grenades, ammunition and additional military equipment," the military said.

IDF soldiers have encountered heavy armed resistance from Hamas gunmen in Khan Younis as they ramp up their operations there, Israeli media reported.

Elements of the IDF's 7th Brigade reported they killed seven militants with tank and sniper fire while attacking a building that was found to house "a substantial cache" of military hardware, including explosive devices, grenades, sniper and assault rifles.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said they raided the house of a senior Hamas military intelligence officer in Khan Younis, where they discovered a tunnel and a cache of weapons, which were destroyed.

The IDF Southern Command said the Givati ​​Brigade infantry is also continuing to operate in Khan Younis.

U.N. health officials said Monday that the intense fighting in and around Khan Younis over the last five weeks "is causing loss of life and damage to civilian infrastructure," including the destruction of the largest refugee shelter in the southern Gaza Strip.

"This is forcing thousands of Palestinians to flee further south towards Rafah, which is severely overcrowded," the U.N. Palestinian Refugee Agency said in an update. "At the same time, population movements out of Rafah and towards Deir Al Balah and Nuseirat refugee camps [in central Gaza] have been reported, even though there are reports of further fighting and airstrikes in those areas."