Heavy bomb attacks were reported in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip following new evacuation orders issued by Israel.
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (OCHA) Its daily report on the situation in the Gaza Strip stated that 28 percent of the territory of the Strip has now been identified as an area that the civilian population must evacuate.
It was the Israeli army that divided the Gaza Strip into regions. Many of those who have been asked to evacuate now have already been internally displaced after Israel asked civilian residents in northern Gaza to flee to the south.
Israel has now declared, among other things, that about 20% of the city of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza is no longer a safe area. About 117,000 people were living there before hostilities broke out in October.
There are also 21 camps housing about 50,000 displaced people, most of them from northern Gaza.
Khan Yunis is located in the far south of the Gaza Strip, near the border with Egypt.
It is expected that Israel will expand the war and focus more on southern Gaza after it penetrated into northern Gaza earlier.
We fought hard in the northern Gaza Strip. We are now doing the same thing in the southern part of the Strip, Israeli army commander Herzl Halevy said in his speech to soldiers in Gaza on Sunday.
The Israeli newspaper wrote that Haaretz.
Admiral Daniel Hagari in the Israeli army said that the Israeli army continues to expand the ground operation against Hamas to include all areas of the Gaza Strip.
On Monday night, there were reports of intense bomb attacks in Khan Yunis, Al Jazeera reported.
– Overcrowded
According to the United Nations, residents of several areas in southern Gaza were ordered to evacuate to Al-Fukhari, east of Khan Yunis, and to the Rafah neighborhoods.
– It is already overpopulated there, writes the United Nations.
The United Nations notes that international law protects civilian populations, even if they remain in a place they have been asked to evacuate.
The United Nations notes that parties to the conflict must take all possible measures to avoid and reduce harm to civilians.
Civilians who choose to remain in areas designated for evacuation do not lose their protection, according to the United Nations.
Increased pressure
In addition to Khan Yunis, the largest areas for which evacuation notices have now been issued are areas east of Khan Yunis. These areas constitute 19 percent of the Gaza Strip, and residents are asked to move south towards the Rafah border.
The UN writes that thousands of internally displaced people have now arrived in Rafah, increasing pressure there.
Rafah is the only area where emergency aid was distributed during the past 24 hours. In Khan Yunis, movement stopped due to fighting.
The Israeli army also asked residents of the eastern parts of Gaza City and Jabalia, both in the northern Gaza Strip, to evacuate towards the west.
– Diseases
The United Nations also warns of the spread of diseases in displacement camps. Dr
– There has been a significant increase in diseases and ailments such as diarrhoea, respiratory infections, skin infections, and hygiene-related diseases such as lice. There are also initial reports of outbreaks of diseases such as hepatitis A.
Israel has repeatedly said it is trying to minimize harm to the civilian population.
They said that evacuation notices were issued so that people could flee to safety, but a number of international organizations and countries say that is impossible.