Israel Orders New Mass Evacuation in Gaza, 250,000 People Affected by Displacement

(Patria) - The United Nations announced today that Israel's decision for Palestinians to evacuate the Khan Younis and Rafah areas represents the largest such order in the Gaza Strip since 1.1 million people had to leave the northern part of the enclave in October due to fighting.

The war in Gaza began after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing around 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said yesterday that the evacuation order applies to a third of Gaza, reports RSE.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) estimates that around 250,000 people are currently in the area, Reuters writes.

Just weeks after people were forced to return to a devastated Khan Younis, Israeli authorities have issued new evacuation orders for the area.

Yet again, families face forced displacement. We estimate 250,000 people will have to flee. Even though nowhere is safe in #Gaza. pic.twitter.com/OReO4D5E0d

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 2, 2024

Dujarric believes that "an evacuation of this scale will only worsen civilian suffering and increase humanitarian needs".

He warned that people are facing an "impossible choice of relocating again, some likely for the second or third time, to areas that barely have enough space and functioning services, or staying in an area where fierce fighting will occur".

Following Hamas's massacre, mostly of civilians, Israel launched an offensive on Gaza.

According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, controlled by Hamas, nearly 38,000 people have been killed in the fighting. Around 2.3 million people live in the enclave.