Rabat – Israeli forces announced on Saturday new mass evacuation orders for southern areas of Khan Younis, citing intensified fighting.
In a statement, Israeli forces pointed to “numerous acts of terrorism and the firing of anti-aircraft missiles” as the primary reasons for the evacuations, saying that certain areas in the south have “become dangerous.”
The announcement included a directive to residents of specific parts of Khan Younis to vacate immediately, with the statement referencing intelligence reports that allegedly identified Hamas “terrorist infrastructure” in regions previously designated as humanitarian zones.
This follows an earlier evacuation order for eastern Khan Younis last week, which saw Israeli forces launching attacks minutes after the warning was issued.
This led to the evacuation of at least 150,000 residents in only one day, according to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported last week that over 80% of the Gaza Strip has become subject to evacuation orders or has been declared no-go zones by Israeli forces.
This figure is expected to have risen following the latest evacuation orders for southern Khan Younis.
The UNRWA spokeswoman expressed the desperation of Gaza residents on BBC Radio 4, saying: “We just keep hearing the same question: Where do I go?”
The continuous evacuation orders have left Gaza’s population struggling to find safe refuge in increasingly crowded and shrinking areas in the wake of relentless Israeli bombardment.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health has reported that the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 39,175, with over 90,000 wounded since the war began on October 7.
However, a recent report by the British medical journal The Lancet suggests that the actual death toll could be as high as 186,000, accounting for those still missing under the rubble.
