Middle East & Africa | The final battle looms

Israel is pushing into southern Gaza as the clock ticks down

The fighting in Khan Younis is the most intense yet

Smoke billowing over the Palestinian enclave of Gaza during Israeli bombardment
Photograph: AFP
|JERUSALEM

WITH THE war in Gaza about to enter its third month, Israeli forces are pushing hard into the crowded southern half of the coastal strip. In the most intense fighting seen so far, they are hoping to inflict as much damage as they can to Hamas’s remaining strongholds before the political clock runs out on what may be Israel’s last large-scale ground offensive of the war.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “The final battle looms”

From the December 9th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

Discover more

A man inspects the damage at the site of an overnight Israeli airstrike that targeted the Shayyah neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs on November 26, 2024

Israel and Hizbullah strike a fragile deal to end their war

Joe Biden makes a last push to bring peace to the Middle East

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant hold a press conference in Tel Aviv

The arrest warrant is a diplomatic disaster for Netanyahu

But may also undermine the International Criminal Court


Food distributed to displaced Palestinians in Gaza

Israel’s hardliners reckon Gaza’s chaos shows they must control it

Only 11 out of a recent convoy of 109 aid trucks managed to get in


Why GM crops aren’t feeding Africa

Despite decades of research, few countries grow them there

A genocidal militia’s quest for legitimacy

A warring party in Sudan claims it wants to talk peace

Get ready for “Maximum Pressure 2.0” on Iran 

The Trump White House may bomb and penalise the regime into a deal