After recovering the bodies of five hostages captured at the beginning of the conflict, the Israeli army is expanding its operation in the south of the Gaza Strip and is issuing new evacuation orders for the south of Khan Younis, now a dangerous area, according to an Israeli spokesperson. An inextricable situation in which Gazan civilians are the main victims.
3 min
With our correspondent in Jerusalem, Michel Paul
This is the second time in less than a week that the Israeli army has ordered the evacuation of several sectors of the city of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip. Gaza. Remaining in this area has become dangerous, an Israeli spokesman proclaimed. In a statement, the army asked the Palestinians to move to the al-Mawasi area, further west, declared “ humanitarian zone ” by Israel.
In fact, according to the UN Office for Humanitarian AffairsUNsome 180,000 Gazans have fled the violent fighting south of the city since the beginning of the week. It was there that the Israeli military discovered on Wednesday, July 25, the bodies of five hostages kidnapped on October 7. They were buried in a tunnel.
” Since the beginning of the Israeli military operation in the Khan Younis region, we are talking about about 170 martyrs and hundreds of wounded “, Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told AFP. He also said that many people had been displaced again on Saturday.
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“ The question is where will these residents go? “, said Mr. Bassal. He added: ” Anyone who observes the situation in Khan Younis will see thousands of people on the roads, on the ground, in areas that are unfortunately not suitable for life. Having no other options, they expose themselves to death. “.
These new evacuation orders include an area that had previously been declared ” secure humanitarian zone “According to a statement from the army, this new operation was launched to put an end to rocket fire from this area. But on the ground, the result is that the humanitarian zone has been considerably reduced. And this is forcing tens of thousands of displaced people to live in even more precarious conditions, in makeshift tents, according to witnesses on the ground.
30 dead after attack on school
The move comes after an Israeli strike on a school in Deir al-Balah left 30 dead this Saturday. The Israeli army indicated that it had carried out an operation in this school, in the center of the Gaza Strip, targeting the ” terrorists ” who operated there. ” At the same time, the terrorists developed and stored large quantities of weapons inside the compound. “, the army added.
“ Khadija School, which housed a makeshift medical unit in the Deir al-Balah area, was targeted (by a strike that) left 30 martyrs and more than 100 injured “, the Hamas Health Ministry said in a statement, adding that the school was sheltering around 4,000 displaced people.
Read alsoWar in Gaza: MSF denounces recurring “massacres of civilians” and describes a desperate situation