Israeli Army Orders Gaza City Evacuation amid Heavy Bombardment, Famine

Displaced Palestinian families in Gaza. (Photo: Shaimaa Eid, The Palestine Chronicle)

Israel has ordered Gaza City residents to evacuate south under heavy bombardment, even as strikes hit alleged “safe zones” in Khan Yunis, deepening a war that has killed over 64,000 Palestinians and pushed the Strip into famine.

The Israeli military issued a new order on Tuesday, instructing residents of Gaza City to evacuate and move south, as its ongoing military offensive continues with heavy bombardments that have left numerous Palestinians dead and wounded.

Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee announced that residents of Gaza City, especially those in the Old City, Tuffah neighborhood to the east, and areas extending west to the sea, must immediately evacuate via the Rashid axis toward what he described as a “humanitarian zone” in Al-Mawasi, Khan Yunis. 

He emphasized that the army remains “determined to operate in Gaza with great force” to defeat the Palestinian Resistance Movement Hamas.

Deaths and Missing Persons

Hospitals across Gaza reported 11 Palestinians killed and more than 20 missing in Israeli airstrikes since dawn Tuesday. Shelling and air raids persisted across Gaza City.

Local outlets said an Israeli strike on a house near the Al-Qawqa roundabout in Al-Shati refugee camp killed and injured two people, while two others remain unaccounted for. 

Artillery also pounded eastern Gaza, and an Israeli drone dropped explosives in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in the city’s north.

Despite Israeli claims of “safe areas” in Khan Yunis, the army struck the city Tuesday morning, where displaced families already live in dire conditions. Nasser Medical Complex confirmed that five civilians receiving aid were killed by Israeli fire southwest of Khan Yunis.

LIVE BLOG: Gaza Resistance Propels Israeli Military Advances as Scores Killed in New Massacres – Day 704

On Monday, the army destroyed the Salam Tower in central Gaza City, a building sheltering hundreds of Palestinians, including displaced cancer patients. The strike came shortly after Israeli forces had ordered its residents to evacuate.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted Monday that Israeli forces had demolished 50 residential buildings in Gaza City within two days and vowed more destruction as part of ongoing displacement efforts.

Since October 7, 2023, with full American backing, Israel has waged a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 64,000 Palestinians, wounding 163,000, and displacing hundreds of thousands. A famine has also claimed 393 lives, including 140 children.

(PC, AJA)