| 2025 Khan Yunis offensive | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part ofOperation Gideon's Chariots(until 4 August 2025), theIsraeli invasion of the Gaza Strip during theGaza war, theHamas–Popular Forces conflict, and theFatah–Hamas conflict | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Belligerents | ||||||||
Israeli-backed groups
|  Khanidak clan[a]Barbakh clan[b] | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | ||||||||
 Yaniv AsorMoran Omer [he]Guy Levy [he] Yasser Abu ShababHossam al-Astal |  Izz al-Din al-Haddad Muhammad Abu Shamala X[6][7] | Yasser Khanidak Unknown Barbakh clan leader | ||||||
| Units involved | ||||||||
| Armed clansmen | ||||||||
The2025 Khan Yunis offensive was a major military engagement that began on 26 May 2025 as part of the broaderIsraeli offensive in theGaza Strip launched in May 2025, known asOperation Gideon's Chariots, during the ongoingGaza war. It marked the fourth time that Israel invaded Khan Yunis since the beginning of the war.
Following weeks ofoperations in Rafah, theIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) launched a renewed incursion intoKhan Yunis.[5][9] The operation targetedHamas fighters, positions, infrastructure, and tunnel networks in the city.[10] Several local anti-Hamas armed groups also involved themselves in the fighting.
Following the implementation ofa ceasefire on 10 October 2025, the offensive stopped and Israeli forces withdrew from parts of Khan Yunis.[11][12]
The IDF previously invaded Khan Yunis in December 2023, withthe resulting battle and siege lasting until April 2024. Two later Israeli incursions into the city took placein July and inAugust 2024.
In May 2025, Israel launchedOperation Gideon's Chariots, a renewed campaign focused on eliminating remaining Hamas forces in Gaza.
On 26 May 2025, the IDF initiated a renewed ground offensive into Khan Yunis as part of Operation Gideon's Chariots, following intense airstrikes across Southern Gaza.[5]
On 29 May, Israeli combat engineers completed a major operation to neutralize a Hamas tunnel network on the outskirts of Khan Yunis. According to an official IDF report, troops located and dismantled a lengthy "offensive" underground terror tunnel stretching several hundred meters.[13]
On 30 May, the IDF announced that theKfir Brigade, under the command of the36th Division, were joining the operation in Khan Yunis.[14]
On 6 June, Palestinian militants killed five Israeli soldiers in an ambush east of Khan Yunis, that involved a building rigged with an explosive which collapsed and killed the soldiers.[15]
On 9 June, the IDF completed the capture of all of eastern Khan Yunis.[16]
On 12 June, theGaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) reported that a bus carrying about two dozen Palestinian GHF workers was attacked by Hamas while on its way to a distribution center near Khan Yunis. The attack killed at least eight people and caused multiple injuries.[17] Hamas said that the aid workers were in reality members of thePopular Forces.[18]
On 24 June, seven Israeli soldiers operating in Khan Yunis were killed by an explosive device, thought to have been planted by Hamas'Al-Qassam Brigades.[19]
On 26 June, the Barbakh clan, which reportedly opposes both Hamas and Israel, engaged in armed clashes with Hamas forces at theNasser Hospital in Khan Yunis.[4]
On 27 June, Popular Forces militants reportedly seized control of the Nasser Hospital after a gunbattle with Hamas forces.[20]
On 3 July,Ynet reported that the Fatah-affiliated Khanidak clan, led by Yasser Khanidak, was operating in Khan Yunis and was being armed by Israel.[21] Yasser Khanidak denied any collaboration with Israel.[22]
On 9 July, Palestinian militants attempted to abduct an Israeli soldier in Khan Yunis, who resisted and was then killed.[23]
On 20 August, 14 Al-Qassam Brigades gunmen attacked an Israeli military post in Khan Yunis near theMorag Corridor, likely in an attempt to abduct soldiers. Israeli forces exchanged gunfire with the attackers and reportedly killed between eight and ten gunmen while others retreated.[24] Three IDF soldiers were injured in the attack.[25] The fighters also managed to snipe the commander of a Merkava tank, fatally wounding them. Israeli media referred to it as a “rare” attack that managed to “penetrate the defenses” of the Nahshon Battalion of the army’s Kfir Brigade.
On 25 August, the IDF launchedair strikes on the Nasser Hospital, killing 22 civilians, including five journalists.[26]
On 3 October, clashes in Khan Yunis erupted between Hamas'Arrow Unit and gunmen from the Fatah-aligned[27] al-Mujaida clan. Hamas stated its forces launched a raid to detain supposed collaborators with Israel. Hamas forces reportedly killed 5 members of the clan, and armed clan members reportedly killed 11 Hamas men.[28] TheCounter-Terrorism Strike Force (CSF), a local anti-Hamas armed group, said its men fought the Hamas forces alongside clan members, with Israeli air support.[29] The situation deescalated following the mediation of local elders and an exchange of deceased bodies.[28]
Israeli forces withdrew from parts of Khan Yunis on 10 October following the implementation of a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.[11][12] Dozens of Palestinian civilians returned to their homes in and around Khan Yunis.[11] Other crowds of Palestinians in the city who had been displaced from northern Gaza began trekking back to their homes.[12]
