- Israel issues new evacuation orders in Khan Younis, Gaza.
- Thousands of Palestinians displaced due to intensified military actions.
- Israeli military claims Hamas has embedded terrorist infrastructure in the area.
Israel has issued new evacuation orders in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, further expanding into areas where displaced Palestinians have taken shelter. The Israeli military announced on Saturday that staying in the area had “become dangerous” due to rockets fired by Palestinian fighters. The military claims this adjustment is based on intelligence indicating Hamas has embedded terrorist infrastructure in what was defined as a humanitarian area and stated it is about to “forcefully operate” there.
The latest order follows a previous evacuation directive for eastern parts of Khan Younis and the commencement of a new ground invasion, which began months after launching an offensive in the region. The invasion of Khan Younis has displaced at least 180,000 Palestinians within the first four days, many of whom had to leave without their belongings, according to the United Nations.
Reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud stated that people are expected to move to “safer” areas despite international warnings that nowhere is truly safe. He described the situation as an enforced internal displacement for an already displaced population in southern Khan Younis, who had previously fled the eastern parts due to expanding Israeli military operations.
Mahmoud reported that an air attack killed several people inside a home in the area on Saturday morning, prior to the latest mass evacuation order. The Israeli military disseminated the order through leaflets, SMS, phone calls, recorded audio messages, and Arabic-language media broadcasts. Medical sources informed Al Jazeera that 14 bodies had arrived at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis since the morning.
Additionally, Israeli artillery shelling targeted the town of Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, as the military continued its attacks on various areas across the besieged enclave, including Rafah in the south. On Saturday, the Israeli military confirmed it hit “dozens of targets” in the past day, including the Zeitoun neighborhood in northern Gaza City, which has been a frequent target of attacks for months.
UN agencies have condemned Israel’s policy of mass displacement of Gaza’s civilian population and military attacks on areas previously declared as humanitarian “safe zones.” The Israeli military’s actions have resulted in the deaths of over 39,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the start of the current conflict in October, with more than 90,000 people wounded and thousands missing.
