Gaza’s Ministry of Interior says Israel’s claims of humanitarian zone ‘deceitful’
The ministry has issued a statement warning Palestinians in Gaza City not to trust Israel’s claim that it set up a humanitarian zone in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis.
“We call on citizens in Gaza City to beware of the occupation’s deceitful claims about the existence of a humanitarian safe zone in the south of the Strip,” it said in a statement.
Al-Mawasi, adjacent to the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, was designated a “humanitarian zone” by the Israeli army early on in its campaign against Gaza. Since then, it has been bombed many times. Since the war started, the area has never been safe for Palestinians. Here’s a brief look at what the area and its inhabitants have endured since October 7, 2023.
- Israel designated al-Mawasi a “safe zone” in October 2023, using leaflets, social media, and phone calls to tell people to move there.
- Israel bombed the area several times after that, claiming Hamas officials were hiding among the displaced. The Palestinian group has rejected this claim.
- The biggest attack occurred on July 13, 2024, when 90 people were killed and at least 300 were wounded.
- Following an attack in September 2024, analysis of footage of the bomb crater by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking unit found Israel deployed a US-manufactured 907kg (2,000-pound) MK-84 bomb on the encampment, which has a lethal blast radius of 370 metres (1,213 feet).
- Since Israel resumed its war on Gaza in March after a ceasefire deal collapsed, it quietly removed the al-Mawasi safe zone from its maps, despite continuing to force Palestinians to move to the area as it carves up more of Gaza.
- The Israeli military issued a statement on Saturday, calling the area once again a “humanitarian zone” and claiming it was safe for Palestinians being ordered to leave Gaza City to move there.
Netanyahu says 100,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City
Israel’s prime minister has claimed that about 100,000 Palestinians have so far left Gaza City, according to Israeli media reports, as the military pushes forward with plans to seize the city.
Benjamin Netanyahu also said the army was “eliminating terrorist infrastructure and nefarious terrorist high-rises.”
Israel has not provided evidence to corroborate its claim that Hamas is using residential towers to its military advantage. Its attacks on residential buildings in the city have displaced thousands since its latest campaign began.
Evacuation warnings a ‘tool of psychological warfare’
The issuing of warnings by the Israeli military shortly before striking Gaza City’s residential towers is “not a humanitarian gesture,” according to journalist and military and political analyst Elijah Magnier.
Rather, “it’s a tool of psychological warfare and forced population movement”, he said.
Netanyahu’s estimate that about 100,000 Palestinians have so far fled Gaza City means only 10 percent of its population, estimated at around one million.
“That creates a real burden and a huge worry for the Israeli forces to move in” with a ground operation, the analyst said. “If he wants to continue bombing, it will take many weeks to get half or three-quarters of the population out – if he manages.”
