‘Fear and extreme anxiety’ grip Khan Younis as Israel orders more mass displacement
The AFP news agency is reporting a wave of Israeli strikes in southern Gaza as Palestinians flee areas of Khan Younis city and Rafah following the Israeli order to evacuate immediately.
Witnesses told the AFP news agency of multiple strikes in and around Khan Younis city, where at least eight people were killed and more than 30 were wounded overnight, according to a medical source and the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
Ahmad Najjar, a resident of the Bani Suheila area of Khan Younis, said “a large displacement of residents” is under way.
“Fear and extreme anxiety have gripped people after the evacuation order,” he said.
Evacuation orders a ‘death sentence’ when no safe place to go in Gaza
In Gaza City’s Shujayea neighbourhood, we are seeing video footage of hundreds of families running for their life under heavy artillery and air strikes. There was one video that showed quadcopters and drones chasing people from one street to another.
There are reports of extreme military confrontations between the Israeli military and Palestinian fighting groups on the ground. This has led to further civilian casualties and the destruction of remaining public facilities and residential buildings.
There are also reports of many families who are trapped inside the neighbourhood, who simply did not leave because there is no safe place to go. People, in fact, have lost hope and the sense of being responsive to these evacuation orders.
They are not evacuation orders. They are mainly a death sentence for people when they are herded from one place to another and only end up being killed.
Israel wants to exhaust Palestinians with evacuation orders
Israel’s evacuation order from the east of Khan Younis shows its inability to achieve its goal of eliminating Hamas and its intent to exhaust the population, says Luciano Zaccara, a professor of Gulf politics at Qatar University’s Gulf Studies Center.
“This demonstrates that they cannot win the war because they wanted to eliminate Hamas physically and politically but so far the group is still there, this is why they need to move people, in order to chase them,” Zaccara told Al Jazeera.
“It also proves that Israel wants to win this war by exhausting the people,” he said, referring to several previous evacuation orders from different locations in the past nine months of war.
“In this way, it creates much more trouble and harm for Palestinians who cannot stay for more than one month or 15 days in one place,” he added. The idea that there are safe places to move people to, Zaccara said, “is not true because every time there has been a displacement there were also attacks”.
UNRWA condemns Israel’s ‘forced displacement’ order for 250,000 people in Khan Younis
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has condemned the latest Israeli evacuation order, saying about 250,000 people will have to flee Khan Younis “even though nowhere is safe in Gaza”.
“Just weeks after people were forced to return to a devastated Khan Younis, Israeli authorities have issued new evacuation orders for the area. Yet again, families face forced displacement,” Gaza’s main humanitarian agency said on X.
Just weeks after people were forced to return to a devastated Khan Younis, Israeli authorities have issued new evacuation orders for the area.
Yet again, families face forced displacement. We estimate 250,000 people will have to flee. Even though nowhere is safe in #Gaza. pic.twitter.com/OReO4D5E0d
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) July 2, 2024
