Israel issues new Gaza evacuation orders as military offensive widens

Wafaa Shurafa and Samy Magdy, Associated Press

The Israeli military has published new evacuation warnings for parts of central Gaza, in one of the few areas the military has rarely operated with ground troops.

The evacuation cuts access between the city of Deir al-Balah and the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis in the narrow enclave.

The announcement comes as Israel and Hamas have been holding ceasefire talks in Qatar, but international mediators say there have been no breakthroughs.

Negotiations 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stressed that expanding military operations in Gaza will pressure Hamas to negotiate, though negotiations have been stalled for months.

The area of Gaza under the evacuation order is also where many international organisations attempting to distribute aid are located.

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee warned the military will attack “with intensity” against militants. He called for residents, including those sheltering in tents, to head to the Muwasi area, a desolate tent camp on Gaza’s southern shore that the Israeli military has designated a humanitarian zone.

Gaza’s population of more than two million Palestinians are in a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

Casualties

Hamas triggered the 21-month war when militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Fifty hostages remain, but fewer than half are thought to be alive.

Israel’s military offensive that followed has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It does not say how many militants are among the dead but says more than half of those killed have been women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas government but the UN and other international organisations see it as the most reliable source of data on casualties.

The Hostages Family Forum, a grassroots organisation that represents many of the families of hostages, condemned the evacuation announcement and demanded that Mr Netanyahu and the Israeli military explain what they hope to accomplish in the area of central Gaza, accusing Israel of operating without a clear war plan.

It said: “Enough. The Israeli people overwhelmingly want an end to the fighting and a comprehensive agreement that will return all of the hostages.”

On Saturday night, tens of thousands of protesters once again marched in Tel Aviv to call for an end to the war.