The Israeli army said on Tuesday that it had attacked rocket launch pads in the south of Gaza during the night following rocket fire from the war-ravaged coastal strip. In order to avoid civilian casualties, residents of eastern neighbourhoods of the city of Khan Younis were asked to leave the affected area, the army said. Eyewitnesses said thousands of people fled to supposed safe zones further west, but these were already overcrowded. According to Palestinian reports, at least 31 people were killed in the latest Israeli attacks in Gaza. Seventeen Palestinians died in the city of Gaza alone, …