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.

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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

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