IDF issues evacuation order for residents in southern Gaza

(CBS, KYMA/KECY) - At least 16 people were killed in Khan Yunis, in southern Gaza, on Monday, May 19, according to Palestinian news reports, after Israeli forces said they were launching a large-scale and "unprecedented" assault on the area.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued an evacuation order for Khan Yunis, warning of an "unprecedented attack" on "terrorist organizations" in the area.

IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee said, "From this moment, Khan Yunis Governorate will be considered a dangerous combat zone."

Footage captured by Palestinian photographer Ezz El-Din Al-Muasher shows displaced people leaving Khan Yunis after the evacuation order.

The strikes came amid reports from the Gaza-based Safa News Agency that Israeli special forces had infiltrated Khan Yunis and killed Ahmed Kamel Sarhan, a commander in the Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades, a militant group operating in Gaza.

Hamas issued a statement accusing the IDF of killing Sarhan after failing to take him into custody, and then abducting Sarhan's wife and child under the cover of heavy strikes, according to Palestinian media. Storyful could not independently verify this.

Later, Palestinian media reported that Sarhan's son had been released by Israeli forces, but that the boy's mother remained in their custody.