Israel’s offensive in Gaza has increasingly shifted to the south, with its forces pushing last week into Khan Younis, a major southern city that had provided refuge for Palestinians displaced from the north.

Over the weekend, Israeli tanks and troops moved into the center of Khan Younis, and the Israel Defense Forces claimed that it struck underground tunnels in the city. Describing Khan Younis as one of Hamas’s strongholds, IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari called it one of the places where his troops are fighting “fierce and difficult battles.”