FIERCE fighting erupted as dozens of Israeli tanks roared into southern Gaza early today for the final showdown with Hamas.
Armoured columns came under fire as they probed a mile into the city of Khan Younis where terror commanders including “Hamas Bin Laden” Yahya Sinwar were believed to be hiding.
Thousands of civilians fled in panic as the onslaught was supported by Israeli warplanes and artillery amid fears many would be unable to reach designated “safe areas.”
Hamas Qassam Brigades announced soon after the attack began that it had attacked five tanks and five personnel carriers with Al-Yassin 105 missiles.
Israeli casualties and a string of civilian deaths as the Jewish state's Operation Swords of Iron entered its most critical phase.
Israeli avenging the 1,200 killed in the October 7 attacks face a bloody battle in heavily defended urban areas - and a terrifying maze of booby-trapped tunnels.
Armoured bulldozers were seen smashing their way through defensive barriers as the war in the south gathered pace early today.
The IDF said it blasted 200 targets overnight across Gaza - with dramatic footage showing pinpoint attacks and gun-wielding soldiers on foot and armoured vehicles pushing south.
Palestinian eye witness Amin Abu Hola, 59, said Israeli vehicles were “two kilometers (1.2 miles) inside” the Palestinian territory in the village of al-Qarara near Khan Younis.
Another witness named as Moaz Mohammed, 34, said he also saw Israeli tanks to the south of the Salah al-Din road which runs from the north to the south of the 25-mile strip.
The Israeli Defence Force said residents of Khan Yunis had been addressed in Arabic calling on them to evacuate the war zone.
The message said: "Dear residents of the Gaza Strip, the IDF has renewed its vigorous action against Hamas and other terrorist organisations in the Gaza Strip.
“In order to maintain your safety and security: To the residents of the neighbourhoods of Al-Mahta, Al-Katibah, Hamad, Al-Satar, Bnei Suhila.
“For your safety, we invite you to move to the known displaced persons' shelters in the neighbourhoods of Al-Fukhari, Al-Shaboura, Al-Zuhur and Tal Al-Sultan"
Israel moved south despite US-led concerns that the civilian death toll in Gaza - currently more than 15,000 according to Hamas - could spiral.
Humanitarian agencies claimed that civilians had been confused by requests to enter safe zones and that many had been killed trying to reach them.
The IDF said it had dropped leaflets, sent text messages and even called residents’ phones begging them to evacuate.
Leaflets were dropped which are printed with QR code providing an interactive “evacuation map” which divides the Strip into 2,300 zones.
But only a “slow flow” of people was reported to be leaving Khan Younis as full-scale war erupted around them.
And large parts of the population also remained in the north in the Jabalya and Shajaiya, which Israeli commanders said posed “further challenges”.
IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said today: “As we fought hard and thoroughly in the northern Gaza Strip, so shall we now in the southern Gaza Strip.
“We killed battalion and company commanders, and many operatives, and we began the same course of action in the southern Gaza Strip.
“It will be just as powerful and will get just as many results, and Hamas’s commanders will find the IDF in a very powerful position everywhere.”
This morning, the IDF announced three more soldiers have been killed, taking the total to 74 since the ground incursion began.
Meanwhile, efforts were continuing to blast and seal entrances to the 300-mile maze of Hamas tunnels under the “Gaza Metro".
Israeli forces last night claimed to have destroyed 500 tunnel entrances as commanders close in on October 7 tyrant Yahyar Sinwar.
The monster, 61, spent 22 years in an Israeli prison for terrorist murder and kidnap plots and spent every second honing his burning hatred for his captors.
And Israel’s military chiefs have vowed that their renewed offensive must not end until he is dead after details of his twisted psyche were laid bare.
