The Israeli army has ordered the evacuation of an overpopulated area of Gaza declared a humanitarian zone. The military indicated that they were planning an operation against the fighters of "Hamas" in the city of Khan Younis, including in the area of the neighboring village of Muassi, where there is an improvised refugee tent camp sheltering thousands of people, the Associated Press reported, BTA reported.
The order was issued in response to rocket fire that Israel says was fired from that area. It is the second evacuation order in just a week issued for a zone declared a buffer zone where Palestinians fleeing fighting in other parts of Gaza can find refuge. Since the beginning of the war, many of the Palestinians driven from their homes have had to flee several times in search of safety due to the Israeli bombing and ground offensive.
Following the previous such order on Monday, Israeli airstrikes followed in the Khan Younis area, killing at least 70 people, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, which cited data from Nasser Hospital.
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The area is part of a 60-kilometer "humanitarian zone" to which Israel is directing Palestinians displaced since the start of the Gaza war. A large part of the area is dotted with tent camps that lack basic hygienic conditions such as toilets and health facilities. The camps also have limited access to humanitarian aid, the UN and humanitarian organizations say. About 1.8 million Palestinians have found shelter there, according to Israeli data. This is more than half of Gaza's pre-war population of 2.3 million.
The war in Gaza has claimed more than 39,100 Palestinian lives, according to health authorities in the enclave, who do not distinguish between the number of dead fighters and civilians.
According to UN estimates as of February, there are about 17,000 unaccompanied children in the Palestinian enclave, and this number is likely to rise. The war began with the attack of "Hamas" against southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and taking about 250 hostages. Almost 115 of them are still in Gaza, and about a third are presumed dead, according to Israeli officials.