More Canadians have been approved to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt.

A new document published by Gaza's General Authority for Crossings and Borders shows 165 names under the "Canada" heading.

Israel's military on Sunday ordered more areas in and around Gaza's second-largest city of Khan Younis to evacuate, as it shifted its offensive to the southern half of the territory where it says many Hamas leaders are hiding.

Heavy bombardments were reported overnight and into Sunday in the area of Khan Younis as well as Rafah itself.

Many of the territory's 2.3 million people are crammed in the south after Israeli forces ordered civilians to leave the north in the early days of the 2-month-old war.

The war was sparked by an Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and other militants that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in southern Israel.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2023.

-- with files from The Associated Press