CAIRO. Israel has issued expanded evacuation orders in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, forcing tens of thousands of Palestinian residents and displaced families to flee under the cover of darkness amidst ongoing explosions from tank shelling.
The Israeli military stated that the evacuations are aimed at targeting Hamas militants, who allegedly use these areas to launch attacks and fire rockets. However, the expanded evacuations come on the heels of a devastating Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza City, where displaced Palestinians were taking refuge. The attack, which the Israeli military claims targeted a Hamas and Islamic Jihad command post, resulted in at least 90 fatalities, according to Gaza’s civil defense service. Both Hamas and Islamic Jihad have dismissed this claim, accusing Israel of using it as a pretext for the strike.
The evacuation order, which includes districts in the center, east, and west of Khan Younis, is one of the largest of the ongoing conflict, which has now lasted 10 months. Residents received evacuation instructions via X (formerly Twitter) and text messages: “For your own safety, you must evacuate immediately to the newly created humanitarian zone. The area you are in is considered a dangerous combat zone.”
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), expressed grave concern about the dire conditions faced by those displaced: “Some are only able to carry their children with them, some carry their whole lives in one small bag. They are going to overcrowded places where shelters are already overflowing with families. They have lost everything and need everything,” he said.
In the past 24 hours, the Israeli army reported striking around 30 Hamas military targets, including military structures, anti-tank missile launch posts, and weapons storage facilities. The Islamic Jihad armed wing responded with mortar attacks against Israeli forces in eastern Khan Younis.
Later on Sunday, an Israeli airstrike near the Khan Younis market killed four Palestinians and injured several others, according to medics. Witnesses reported seeing smoke rising from attacks in both the eastern and western parts of the city, with two multi-floor buildings among those destroyed.
The Gaza health ministry reports that nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began last October, with the death toll continuing to rise. Israeli authorities have claimed that at least a third of those killed are fighters, while Gaza officials state that most fatalities are civilians. Israel has also reported 329 soldiers killed in the conflict.
Following a Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in 1,200 deaths and over 250 hostages, Israel initiated its assault on Gaza.
The United Nations estimates that most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, with the territory largely reduced to rubble. Officials from Palestine and the UN report that no areas in the enclave are truly safe. Humanitarian zones like Al-Mawasi, where many evacuees are directed, have also been targeted by Israeli forces.
Zaki Mohammad, a resident of the Hamad housing project in Khan Younis, described the dire situation: “We’re exhausted. This is the 10th time I and my family have had to leave our shelter. People are carrying their belongings, their children, their hopes and their fears and running towards the unknown, because there is no safe place. We are running from death to death.”
Si Venus L Peñaflor ay naging editor-in-chief ng Newsworld, isang lokal na pahayagan ng Laguna. Publisher din siya ng Daystar Gazette at Tutubi News Magazine. Siya ay isa ring pintor at doll face designer ng Ninay Dolls, ang unang Manikang Pilipino. Kasali siya sa DesignCrowd sa rank na #305 sa 640,000 graphic designers sa buong daigdig. Kasama din siya sa unang Local TV Broadcast sa Laguna na Beyond Manila. Aktibong kasapi siya ng San Pablo Jaycees Senate bilang isang JCI Senator.
