GAZA: The Israeli military on Monday issued new evacuation orders for several neighborhoods and towns near Gaza City, warning Palestinians to flee ahead of military operations as the death toll in the besieged territory surpassed 41,988 in the ongoing bombardments since October 7. The directive affected a large number of helpless Palestinians in the northwest Gaza Strip.
Avichay Adraee, a spokesperson for the Israeli military, shared a map on the social media platform X showing the areas to be evacuated. The military’s move comes as part of its ongoing military operations in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The latest evacuation orders add to a series of similar directives issued throughout the conflict, which the United Nations reports have covered much of Gaza’s territory. The UN has noted that most of these areas have been previously declared cleared of Hamas fighters.
Adraee stated that Palestinian fighters in the northwest Gaza Strip have resumed launching rockets into Israeli territory. Earlier in the day, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, a group allied with Hamas, claimed responsibility for recent rocket attacks targeting southern Israel.
According to the Israeli military, “two projectiles were identified crossing from northern Gaza into Israeli territory” late Sunday. One rocket was intercepted, while the other fell into the sea.
The ongoing Israeli bombardment campaign, now extending into its 12th month, has led to widespread displacement among Gaza’s 2.4 million residents. The UN reports that the majority of Gaza’s population has been displaced at least once during the prolonged violence. Previous evacuation orders have led to mass relocations, with people fleeing their homes with limited belongings.
The Health Ministry in Gaza, reported on Monday that at least 40,988 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed since October 7, 2023. The ministry also said that 94,825 Palestinians have been wounded during the ongoing bombardments.
The death toll includes 16 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the health ministry.
Meanwhile, two hospitals in northern Gaza face a potential closure amid a severe fuel shortage, local health officials said.
“The Indonesian Hospital is facing a severe fuel shortage, which threatens to completely halt medical services if Israel continues to prevent the entry of fuel, leaving patients at risk of death,” hospital director Mourwan Sultan told Anadolu.
The hospital’s director said the health facility’s intensive care unit has reached its maximum capacity, with the ward filled with serious patients, including 10 relying on ventilators.
“The operating rooms are running non-stop around the clock,” he said. “If Israel continues to block fuel deliveries, medical services could come to a complete halt, condemning these patients to death.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations Human Rights Council expressed grave concern over the deteriorating situation in the West Bank, attributing the worsening conditions to major Israeli military operations and escalating settler violence.
Opening a session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk decried soaring violence against Palestinians in the West Bank amid major Israeli raids. He described the current situation in the West Bank as “calamitous.”
Turk highlighted the severe impact of Israeli raids across the West Bank, which he said have intensified the already dire circumstances. “Deadly and destructive operations, some at a scale not witnessed in the last two decades, are worsening a calamitous situation there, already aggravated by serious settler violence,” Turk stated.
The violence in the West Bank has sharply increased since the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023. On August 28, Israeli forces launched large-scale raids across multiple cities and refugee camps in the northern West Bank. At least 36 Palestinians have been killed in these Israeli raids, according to the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah.
Since the start of the conflict, Israeli troops and settlers have killed at least 662 Palestinians in the West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry reported.
Turk also raised concerns about the humanitarian situation, noting that nearly 10,000 Palestinians are currently detained in Israeli prisons or military facilities. Many of these detentions are considered arbitrary, and over 50 detainees have reportedly died due to harsh conditions and ill-treatment.
Turk emphasized the urgent need to end the conflict and prevent further regional escalation. “Ending that war and averting a full-blown regional conflict is an absolute and urgent priority,” he said.
