DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Israel’s military, widening its ground offensive in Gaza, renewed calls Monday for evacuations from the southern town of Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians Arabs have sought refuge in recent weeks.

The expanded operations, following the expiration of a weeklong cease-fire, are aimed at extirpating Gaza’s Hamas rulers, whose October 7 attack slew some 1,200 Israelis and precipitated the war. 

Already under mounting pressure from its top ally, America, Israel appears to be racing to defeat Hamas before any new cease-fire.

The ground offensive has transformed much of the north, including large areas in Gaza City, into a rubble-filled wasteland. Hundreds of thousands of persons have sought refuge in the south, parts of which could meet the same fate, and both Israel and neighboring Egypt have refused to accept any refugees.

Residents said they heard airstrikes and explosions at and around Khan Younis overnight and into Monday after the military dropped leaflets warning people to relocate farther south toward the border with Egypt. In an Arabic-language post on social media early Monday, the military again ordered the evacuation of nearly two dozen neighborhoods in and around Khan Younis.

While Israel has carried out airstrikes across the territory since the beginning of the war, it’s less clear where ground forces are operating. An Associated Press reporter at the central town of Deir al-Balah heard shooting and the sound of tanks nearby, but there was no immediate visual confirmation. The military rarely comments on troop deployments.

The Israeli military spokesman, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, confirmed that the army is pursuing Hamas with “maximum force” in the north and south, and said it is trying to minimize harm to civilians. He pointed to a map that divides southern Gaza into dozens of blocks in order to give “precise instructions” to residents on where to evacuate.