The army continued to bomb the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, July 2, particularly the south of the Palestinian territory, and issued new evacuation orders. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) estimates the number of people affected at 250,000. Despite its new operations, the army gave the green light to begin phase III of the conflict, which is supposed to initiate the gradual withdrawal of Israeli troops.
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Israeli strikes left 8 dead and 30 injured in Khan Younis and Rafah, the Palestinian Red Crescent announced on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. The Israeli army indicated that operations were continuing in Shujaiya (North), Rafah (South) and in the center of Gaza, after having ordered on Monday, July 1, a new evacuation of sectors in the south of the territory. Some 250,000 people were affected, says the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
” We saw people moving, families moving, people starting to pack up and try to leave this area. “, Louise Wateridge, UNRWA spokeswoman, told reporters in Geneva via video link from Gaza.
The Israeli order on Monday, July 1, came after 20 projectiles were fired at Israeli soil from the Khan Younis region that same day. Almost two months ago, a similar evacuation order led to mass displacement from Rafah.
According to the UN, some 80 percent of the 2.4 million people in the Gaza Strip are now displaced. The UN’s humanitarian coordinator for the territory, Sigrid Kaag, said on Tuesday: deeply concerned ” by the new evacuation orders issued by the Israeli army. ” More than a million people are once again displaced, seeking shelter and safety, bringing the number of people displaced across Gaza to 1.9 million “, Ms. Kaag said at UN headquarters.
Read alsoGaza: Refugees in Rafah prepare to evacuate without knowing where to go
What about Israeli war aims?
At the same time, the Israeli government has given the green light to begin Phase III of the war in Gaza. This Phase III sounds like an admission of failure: nine months of war, nine months of stagnation. The Israelis have not achieved their objectives, reports our correspondent in Jerusalem, Sami Boukhelifa.
Their number one goal was to eradicate Hamas. Yet the Palestinian group, which is certainly weakened, is still in place in Gaza. And their number two goal was the return of the hostages. But some 120 Israelis are still captive.
Complicated exercise: Israeli leaders ” warmonger » must now convince their public opinion of the coherence of this phase III, which does not meet the promises of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. of total victory in Gaza “.
In detail, this phase III provides for the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip. A military presence will nevertheless be maintained in two places. First, the axis of Netzarim, which is located in the center of the Gaza Strip, extends from east to west and cuts the Palestinian territory in two. The second military position maintained would be in the far south: the Philadelphia corridor, or the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
Israel thus plans to perpetuate the military occupation of the Palestinian enclave. Its army will continue to intervene there in targeted operations, as is currently the case in the Palestinian territories of the West Bank.
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