Israel’s ending of the ceasefire last week has seen close to 700 Palestinians – mostly women and children – killed within days [Getty]
Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip killed at least 23 Palestinians on Tuesday, local health officials said, as the Israeli military expanded evacuation orders to tens of thousands of residents across the enclave.
Israel’s breaking of the ceasefire last week has seen close to 700 Palestinians – mostly women and children – killed within days, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The new displacement orders affect all northern border cities in Gaza, including Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, Beit Hanoun, and Shejaia in Gaza City, as well as Rafah and Khan Younis in the south.
Israel’s army has told residents that they must leave their homes and head south for their “safety”, however the UN and Palestinian officials say there are no safe areas in Gaza.
Among Gaza’s population of around 2.3 million – the majority who have been displaced multiple times during the war – the latest orders have raised fears that Israel will attempt to permanently expel them from their homes.
Many Israeli officials have threatened to occupy and settle Gaza since the beginning of the war, with the position appearing to have been given legitimacy by US President Donald Trump‘s plan to expel the territory’s Palestinian population.
On Friday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered army chiefs to take control of more areas of Gaza and displace residents to create ‘safe zones’ and signalled that Hamas’s refusal to release the remaining Israeli captives will be met with further annexation of Palestinian land.
Gaza resident Abu Mohammed Darbieh told The New Arab‘s Arabic-language sister site that despite the horrors of the Israeli siege and bombing campaign, the threat of expulsion is one of his biggest concerns.
Fatima al-Khudari, another Gaza resident, also spoke about the fears of another round of displacements.
“Our lives in Gaza lack the most basic human rights and requirements , but talk of displacement represents a real nightmare for us… I am never thinking of leaving my country and emigrating,” she told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.
UN reducing international presence in Gaza
On Monday, UN spokesperson Stephan Dujarric said that the world body will be reducing the size of its international team in Gaza, following Israel’s resumption of large scale attacks.
Dujarric, who described the move as “temporary”, said around 30 out of 100 or so international staff would leave Gaza this week.
The UN official conceded that the “difficult decision” comes amid heightening “concern over the protection of civilians”.
Dujarric also confirmed that Israel was behind a deadly attack on a UN compound on 19 March in Deir Al-Balah. The tank strike killed a UN staff member from Bulgaria and severely injured six others.
Israel’s army had repeatedly denied responsibility for the attack on the UN-marked site.
Captives’ family pleads with Netanyahu
The family of Israeli captive Elkana Bohbot urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump on Monday to reconsider their current strategy of resuming war.
The plea from the family came after Hamas released an undated video of Bohbot and Yosef-Chaim Ohana in captivity.
“Please, imagine this is your son, the father of your grandchild, waiting to see daylight, hearing IDF (Israel Defense Forces) bombs, and living in constant fear for his life,” Bohbot’s family said in a statement.
