Khan Yunis, July 29 (RHC)-- A new evacuation order issued for overcrowded central Gaza has sparked fears of an Israeli invasion of more areas of the besieged Palestinian territory. In central Gaza, the Israeli military on Sunday called upon Gazans to evacuate the Bureij and Shuhada areas.
Residents were told to leave immediately and go to a so-called humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi where Israel has told thousands of Palestinians to seek refuge throughout the war. The central area is completely overcrowded with people who have no place to go and some have vowed to stay. Meanwhile, the Israeli army sent tanks deeper into southern Gaza.
Armored vehicles pushed into three towns of al-Karara, az-Zanna, and Bani Suheila in eastern Khan Yunis city. Tanks also shelled areas in central Gaza including the Bureij and Nuseirat refugee camps and Juhor ad-Dik village.
There are ongoing artillery and air strikes as Israel’s army continues to target different areas of southern Khan Yunis city. Health officials say attacks killed 66 Palestinians across the besieged enclave in the past 24 hours. Since Sunday morning, medical sources say, 18 bodies have now arrived at Nasser Hospital.
Israeli warplanes targeted a house in Khan Yunis city, killing five people including at least four children while wounding others.
Video from the scene shows grisly images of child victims ripped apart by the Israeli bombing. Footage also shows a father carrying the body of his headless child into Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis after the attack.
Two separate Israeli air strikes on Khan Yunis have killed at least 15 Palestinians, including a four-month-old girl, medics said. Another air strike on a house at the center of the city of Khan Yunis killed 10 people.
On Saturday, local health officials reported that over 50 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes in central and southern Gaza. Over 30 people were killed and around 100 were wounded in a strike on a school compound sheltering displaced Palestinians in the city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
Fifteen children and eight women were among those killed in the strike at the school. Earlier on Saturday, a series of Israeli airstrikes in the city of Khan Yunis killed 23 people.
The rights group says Israel's forced evacuation orders reflect its "persistence in committing the crime of genocide in the Gaza Strip."
The UN agency for Palestinians recently said nine out of every 10 people in the besieged Gaza Strip have been “forcibly displaced” during the Israeli onslaught on Gaza. UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini in a post on social media on Sunday said Israeli evacuation orders create “havoc” and “panic” among the population of the Strip.
“Almost everyone in Gaza has been impacted by these orders. Many were forced to flee on average once a month since the war began nine months ago,” Lazzarini said on X.
“This evacuation tactic only brings more misery, fear and suffering for people who have nothing to do with this war.”
Israel has left extensive casualties, killing at least 39,250 Palestinians, mainly children and women. Thousands more are believed to be buried beneath the rubble.
