In a recent directive, the Israeli military have called for the large-scale evacuation of Palestinians from the eastern sector of Khan Younis. This mandate, issued on Monday, implies a likely return of Israeli forces to the city of Khan Younis, the second most populated city in Gaza. Earlier in the year, Israel concluded an operation in Khan Younis and drew back the majority of its troops.
Previously, a large scale assault led to extensive destruction throughout Khan Younis. Yet, in a bid to evade another Israeli operation, numerous Palestinians have resettled in the city, having originally fled the southernmost city in Gaza, Rafah. The evacuation instruction on Monday applied to not only the whole of eastern Khan Younis but also a considerable portion of the southeastern quarter of the Gaza Strip. Earlier that day, Israeli forces reported a flurry of rocket launches from Gaza originating from Khan Younis.
The potential for conflict to reignite in Khan Younis could further obstruct Palestinians’ access to much-needed clean drinking water. Within this designated evacuation zone resides a water supply line that Israel established after its discontinuation of water supply to the strip was criticised early in their campaign.
Also encompassed by this zone are the outskirts of the Kerem Shalom crossing, the primary aid pathway to southern Gaza, as well as an alternative path that Israel vowed to shield to facilitate trucks loaded with humanitarian aid to enter the strip. A shortage of assistance has been able to reach the strip, due to anarchy along the aid route, and any new operations could exacerbate the strain on aid relief efforts.
The call for evacuation is indicative of a resurgence of Hamas in this region. Israeli authorities have disclosed that they are in the last phase of an operation in neighbouring Rafah, and heavy fighting has occurred recently in parts of Gaza City in the north.
Earlier on Monday, Israel released 55 Palestinians that had been detained in Gaza, one of them being Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of the territory’s primary hospital, who was released without facing any charges or trial after being held in November when Israeli forces stormed Shifa Hospital. Mr Abu Selmia criticised the Israeli authorities in a video aired by Palestinian media following his release, alleging that Palestinian detainees were experiencing “daily physical and psychological humiliation”. Israeli authorities have disputed these claims.
Following an attack by Hamas on October 7th, which resulted in the storming of southern Israel by militants, around 1,200 fatalities – primarily civilians – and the kidnapping of about 250 individuals, Israel initiated a war.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, over 37,700 lives have been lost due to Israeli terrestrial attacks and shelling thus far. They, however, do not distinguish between civilian or military casualties in their calculations. Gaza’s population, predominantly reliant on aid, have been majorly affected by the war-induced scarcity of food, medical supplies, and essential commodities. Home to 2.3 million people, most of Gaza’s residents have been compelled to abandon their homes, many several times over. The disruption of public order, ongoing conflict, and Israeli-imposed restrictions have significantly impeded the aid distribution process, thereby causing heightened instances of malnutrition and famine fears.
The high-ranking international court of the United Nations expressed the reasonable possibility of an impending genocide in Gaza, an accusation fervently refuted by Israel. The United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, remarked on the new evacuation order, stating that it underscored the fact that no part of Gaza provided safety to Palestinian civilians. In a statement urging a ceasefire, he discussed the fatal cyclical nature of events that Gaza’s population needed to weather regularly.
On a related note, the perpetrators of Hamas’s attack on the 7th of October were sued by the victims, the case being filed in a New York federal court. The complaints were directed towards Iran, Syria, and North Korea, accusing their governments of providing the militants with the finances, weaponry, and expertise necessary to execute the attack that eventually triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. The lawsuit demands compensation worth a minimum of 4 billion dollars or £3.16 billion to offset the orchestrated non-judicial murders, hostage-taking, and correlated horrors allegedly supported materially and resource-wise by the accused. The United Nations mission from Iran declined to remark on these allegations, while Syria and North Korea chose not to respond.
In recent news, an Israeli soldier was reportedly killed due to a roadside blast in the northern West Bank on Monday. Local reports suggest that the event took place in Nur Shams – a city-based refugee camp near Tulkarem where the military had been active in recent times. Prior to this, the army had reported the death of another soldier enrolled in the southern Gaza Strip fight. Since the outbreak of the hostilities against Hamas on the 7th of October, the Israeli forces have suffered over 600 casualties.