Smoke billows over the city of Khan Younis in Gaza during an IDF ground assault. Photo: Reuters/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

Israeli forces, advancing deep into western Khan Younis in Gaza’s bloodiest fighting of the new year so far, stormed one hospital and placed another under siege on Monday, cutting the wounded off from trauma care, Hamas officials claimed.

IDF soldiers advanced for the first time into the al-Mawasi district near the Mediterranean Coast, west of Khan Younis, the main city in southern Gaza. There, they stormed the Al-Khair hospital and were arresting medical staff, Ashraf al Qidra, a spokesperson for the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry, told Reuters.

There was no immediate word from Israel on the situation at the hospital. The military spokesperson’s office had no comment.

Separately, the IDF released new  footage of tunnels where it says hostages were kept in Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city.

The footage showed squalid conditions in which the IDF said the hostages were being held. 

The tunnel was about 830 meters (just over 2,700 feet) long and about 20 meters deep, the IDF said.

“We cannot and will not rest knowing innocent civilians are being held in compounds like this one. We will not stop operating until we bring the hostages home,” the IDF said in a statement.

Relatives of hostages and their supporters rallied near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home over the weekend to call for more to be done to bring the hostages back.

Hamas terrorists seized about 250 hostages during their Oct. 7 pogrom in southern Israel, and Israel has said around 132 remain in Gaza.

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