A new declaration targeted eastern Gaza City, including several areas that had been declared evacuation zones. The United Nations said 390,000 people had been displaced in recent weeks.
Adam Rasgon and
Adam Rasgon reported from Jerusalem and Iyad Abuheweila reported from Istanbul, Turkey
The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for neighborhoods in Gaza City on Friday as it pressed forward with its offensive in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, delivering a painful choice to Palestinians about whether to stay or go.
The orders targeted eastern Gaza City, including several parts that the military had declared evacuation zones last week. The move suggested that some people had remained in their homes even after the Israeli military had told them to leave.
Since the two-month cease-fire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in March, Israel has issued a succession of orders across Gaza, covering roughly half of the territory. The orders have left Palestinians in the north — many of whom have been displaced multiple times and returned home when the truce came into effect — debating whether to stay in their neighborhoods despite the danger or to leave and yet again face the miserable conditions of displacement.
While the United Nations has said that over 390,000 people have been displaced in recent weeks, the exact number of people remaining in evacuation zones was unclear.
“We don’t want to leave,” said Ahmad al-Masri, 26, a resident of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza who has spurned evacuation orders for his town. “Where will we go? It’s so very tiring.”
In some parts of Gaza, the military has called on people to leave and later invaded by ground. In other areas, it has put out evacuation orders, but has not sent in infantry. At least some Palestinians who have disregarded evacuation orders said they would leave if Israeli tanks move into their neighborhoods.
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