Israel launched a campaign in Gaza

already in these areas.”

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had been operating "in the Khan Younis area over the past 24 hours" and had “eliminated several terrorists” whilst “dismantling terrorist infrastructure”.

Israel’s offensive comes as The World Health Organization said it was “extremely worried” about the possibility of an outbreak of the highly infectious polio virus in Gaza after traces were found in wastewater.

Israel launched a campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

More than 39,000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry, whose figures do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.