Siege of Khan Yunis

The battle of Khan Yunis, which evolved into the siege of Khan Yunis in late January, began on 1 December 2023 in the midst of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.

December 2023
On 1 December 2023, the Israel Defense Forces launched air raid operations on the city of Khan Yunis, with Israeli Air Force fighter jets striking over 50 targets in the area. These air raids and artillery strikes continued for the next few days in large numbers.

On 3 December, Israeli forces announced the expansion of the ground invasion to the south of Gaza using ground and armored forces. On the same day, Hamas announced that it had targeted Israeli troops and armored vehicles with mortar shells and Yassin rocket-propelled grenades.

On 5 December, the Israeli forces claimed that their troops had reached the center of Khan Yunis. They stated that this was the most intense day of battles since the start of ground operations, in terms of Hamas fighters killed, the number of engagements and the use of fire from the ground and the air.

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad published a video showing militants confronting Israeli forces penetrating east of the city. Also, Hamas announced that they have counted the total or partial destruction of 24 military vehicles in Khan Yunis. They also stated that they eliminated 8 Israeli troops with sniper attacks and that they successfully demolished a building housing Israeli troops with a barrel bomb and TBG explosives, causing the complete collapse of the building.

On 10 December, the IDF announced that 6 IDF soldiers had been killed whilst fighting in Khan Yunis.

On 18 December, IDF announced that the Duvdevan Unit and the Oketz Unit had destroyed multiple tunnels and a drone factory during advances in Khan Yunis while seven IDF soldiers were killed. The destruction of rocket launchers aimed at Israel degraded the ability of Hamas to launch rocket strikes on Israel. It was reported that Hamas was transferring forces from across Gaza Strip to reinforce the Khan Yunis Brigade which the IDF estimates would take months to destroy.

On 19 December, al-Qassam Brigades announced that they had detonated a rigged house when Israeli forces entered the building and also announced a separate incident where they trapped Israeli forces in a house and detonated anti-personnel charges and thermobaric shells. The al-Qassam Brigades claimed both attacks killed and wounded Israeli forces but without evidence to support their claims. IDF forces were reinforced by an additional brigade and engineering force.

On 23 December, the al Qassem Brigades claimed that they lured five Israeli SOF engineers into a tunnel rigged with explosive at the east of Khan Yunis, and that they killed all of the five engineers.

January 2024
On 4 January 2024, the IDF claimed to have significantly degraded the command and control of Hamas's Khan Yunis Brigade's northern and eastern battalions with the destruction of tunnel systems, infrastructure and deaths of company commanders. The IDF's 4th Brigade attacked the southern flank of Hamas's Khan Yunis Brigade as the IDF surrounded the city. In turn, Hamas’ naval special operations forces reinforced Palestinian fighters in Khan Yunis via tunnel systems while the al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, the National Resistance Brigades and the al-Quds Brigades fought the IDF in different areas of the city.

On 12 January, the IDF announced that airstrikes directed by the IDF 98th Division killed a commander in Hamas Nukhba Forces and six other Hamas fighter with the commander participating in October 7 attacks on Israel. IDF also destroyed weapon caches found in the area. The al Quds Brigades attacked an Israeli bulldozer in Khan Younis City while firing mortars against Israeli forces in central Khan Younis together with al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.

On 21 January, Israeli forces discovered an underground tunnel in a civilian area of Khan Younis which contained five prison cells where Hamas is believed to have kept the hostages. IDF published children's drawings as proof the hostages had been held there.

On 24 January 2024, twenty-one Israeli soldiers were killed in an explosion and subsequent building collapse in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip, making it the deadliest day for the Israel Defense Forces since the ground invasion began.

February 2024
On 1 February, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited Khan Younis and announced that all Hamas battalions in Khan Younis have been dismantled but the IDF had not yet claimed operational control over the area.

On 15 February, the IDF raided the Nasser Hospital, alleging that Hamas was holding Israeli hostages at the facility and it possibly contained bodies of some dead hostages. The IDF arrested dozens of people it alleged to be militants.

On 18 February, the IDF reported that Hamas's Khan Younis Brigade does not exist as a military entity anymore but other Hamas-aligned militias continued attacks against the IDF.

On 19 February, IDF reported that clearing operation in western Khan Younis are being finished with Israeli forces carrying out airstrikes to eliminate Hamas units trying to advance towards Khan Younis. The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine claimed attacks with IEDs and RPGs against Israeli forces near Nasser Hospital. Hamas reported its fighters had returned from fighting areas in western Khan Younis after targeting 15 Israeli soldiers in a house.

March 2024
On 9 March, the Institute for the Study of War, published that Hamas "remains combat effective" in Khan Yunis.

April 2024
On 6 April, four Israeli soldiers were killed in an ambush in Khan Yunis. Two days later, the Qassam Brigades military media published the operation, which they had named the "Ambush of the Righteous", depicting a complex and meticulously planned attack with several phases.

On 7 April, all Israeli forces withdrew from Khan Yunis. In an announcement the same day, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed that Hamas forces has ceased to exist as a military force in Khan Younis and stated the withdrawal was in preparation for the planned Rafah offensive. However, rockets were fired by Palestinian forces in Khan Younis immediately after the IDF's withdrawal. White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby claimed it was a "rest and refit" rather than a preparation for a offensive. According to the Institute for the Study of War, citing unspecified sources within the IDF, IDF hoped the withdrawal would allow displaced Palestinians in Rafah to migrate to parts of Khan Younis and the central Gaza Strip which would facilitate an Israeli clearing operation into Rafah.

Aftermath
Following the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the Palestinian Civil Defence accessed the city, so far had been able to extract 280 bodies. They have estimated that about 8,000 civilians lie under the rubble in Khan Yunis. Later the Palestinian civil defense crew discovered a mass grave near the Nasser Medical Complex and recovered over 310 bodies so far.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Hamas had begun mass recruitment of 18-year-olds in Khan Younis in an attempt to replace the massive casualties suffered and reconstitute its forces but this was denied by the IDF. However the loss of tunnels, loss of factories producing rockets and weapons, deaths of experienced commanders and bases during the offensive would delay Hamas from regaining its pre-war strength.