No fewer than 75,000 Palestinians fled from the Hamad residential district and surrounding areas in Khan Yunis, located in the southern Gaza Strip, after the Israeli army warned them to evacuate on August 11, 2024.
This evacuation occurs amidst the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Israeli strikes in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday claimed the lives of at least two Palestinians, following the evacuation order in Khan Yunis.
The strikes in central Khan Yunis left several others injured, according to reports from the official Palestinian WAFA news agency.
The intensifying conflict comes just days before proposed cease-fire talks scheduled for Thursday, with the US, Egypt, and Qatar urging both Israel and Hamas to return to negotiations to end the war.
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli army issued an urgent order for residents of the al-Jalaa neighborhood in northern Khan Yunis to evacuate immediately.
The military cited “many acts of terrorism, the exploitation of the humanitarian zone for terrorist activity, and the firing of rockets” toward Israel as reasons for the evacuation, describing the area as a “dangerous battle zone.”
The army is preparing to launch a new operation against Hamas militants in the area and is urging residents to evacuate via text messages, voicemails, and social media to prevent casualties.
This evacuation order is the latest in a series that have occurred in Khan Yunis over the past few weeks, following the renewal of Israeli strikes in the city, where they allege Hamas militants are operating.
Khan Yunis had been designated by Israel as a safe zone, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians had sought refuge after fleeing their homes from other parts of Gaza since the conflict began ctober 2023.
The UN Palestinian refugee agency chief, Philippe Lazzarini, reported that over 75,000 people have been displaced in southern Gaza in recent days.
He expressed concern on X, stating, “They are going to overcrowded places where shelters are already overflowing with families. Unlike in other wars, the people of Gaza are trapped & have nowhere to go.”
The evacuation order on Sunday followed a deadly Israeli strike on a school in Gaza City the previous day, where more than 90 displaced Palestinians were killed, according to Gaza’s civil defense agency.
The Israeli military claimed it targeted a Hamas and Islamic Jihad command post at the school, killing 19 militants, though both Palestinian militant groups denied this.
The strike on Saturday sparked widespread condemnation, including from the European Union and US Vice President Kamala Harris, who reiterated calls for a cease-fire in Gaza.
In response to the attack, the UN Security Council is set to convene on Tuesday for an emergency session requested by Algeria.
Since Israel launched its offensive on Gaza in retaliation for Hamas’ cross-border assault on October 7, nearly 40,000 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in the enclave, with over 91,000 others injured, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The ongoing conflict has also displaced up to 1.9 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, with many experiencing displacement multiple times, according to UN figures.
Hamas militants, during their assault in southern Israel, killed nearly 1,200 people and took over 240 others hostage.
