Israel issues fresh evacuation order in Gaza’s Khan Younis after renewed offensive displaces tens of thousands

CNN
 — 

Israel’s military issued new evacuation orders for residents in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis, warning it would “forcefully operate” in southern neighborhoods as it presses on with an operation that has already displaced tens of thousands.

Khan Younis has faced intensifying bombardment recently, and a fresh Israeli ground assault launched earlier this week has killed dozens of Palestinians. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) warned on Monday it would reduce its so-called humanitarian zone in the eastern part of the city, due to intelligence that militant group Hamas had embedded in the area.

Fighting has been ongoing on Gaza for months, and the renewed offensive shows Israel’s challenges in achieving its goal of eliminating Hamas. Israel said that about 100 militants had been killed during recent fighting.

The United Nations estimated that about 150,000 people fled Khan Younis on Monday alone, intensifying pressure on meager supplies of food and water, and places to seek shelter.

Signaling another campaign was imminent, the IDF wrote on Telegram it was “about to forcefully operate against the terrorist organizations and therefore calls on the remaining population left in the southern neighborhoods of Khan Yunis to temporarily evacuate to the adjusted Humanitarian Area in Al-Mawasi.”

An eyewitness in Khan Younis told CNN that she was “woken up by the screams” of people as they fled the area following the evacuation order.

The eyewitness told CNN that she could hear clearly hear the sound of clashes and explosions in Khan Yunis and saw flares in the sky overnight. According to her, people are now fleeing the area.

The designated humanitarian area in Al-Mawasi has come under repeated Israeli attacks, including a strike on July 14 which reportedly killed 90 people and injured 300 more.

The statement said the move was in retaliation to “significant terrorist activity and rocket fire” emanating from southern Khan Younis. It added that the location previously defined as a humanitarian area “will be adjusted.”

Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza on October 7 after Hamas attacked southern Israel. At least 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 others abducted, according to Israeli authorities.

Israeli military action in Gaza has since killed 39,090 Palestinians and injured another 90,147, according to the Ministry of Health there. As of early July, nearly 2 million people had been displaced in Gaza – almost the entire population, according to figures from the UN.

The military said on Saturday that “the calls for the temporary evacuation are being communicated to residents through SMS messages, recorded voice messages, phone calls, media broadcasts in Arabic and flyers,” adding that the early warning to civilians was “being made in order to mitigate harm to the civilian population.”

Aid agencies working in Gaza have warned previously that new rounds of evacuation orders are making the delivery of emergency rations even more difficult.

“People in Gaza are exhausted, living in inhumane conditions, with no safety at all,” the UN Relief and Works Agency posted on X on Monday.

On Thursday, the IDF said it had recovered the bodies of five Israeli hostages the previous day from a tunnel in an area of Khan Younis which it had previously designated as a “humanitarian area.”

Despite the fighting, US and Israeli officials expressed optimism this week over the possibility of a ceasefire and hostage deal being reached.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the different parties are “inside the 10-yard line and driving toward the goal line.”

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he would likely dispatch a negotiation team to talks in Rome next week.

Netanyahu was in Washington this week and met with the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, who urged him to seal an agreement.

“As I just told Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is time to get this deal done,” said Harris. “So to everyone who has been calling for a ceasefire, and to everyone who yearns for peace, I see you and I hear you.”