CORRECTS: Around 30,000 Gazans packed in every square kilometer of Israel-designated ‘safe zone’

CORRECTS HEADLINE, LEAD

By Anadolu staff

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) – Around 30,000 people are packed in every square kilometer in Gaza amid Israeli evacuation orders for residents in the enclave, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Wednesday.

“Protracted military operations and repeated evacuation orders have forced families in the Gaza Strip to flee again and again,” the UN agency said in a statement.

Thousands of displaced Palestinian civilians began evacuating their areas in eastern Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday after new Israeli evacuation orders.

The area was previously designated as a “safe zone” for civilians, but the Israeli army ordered residents to leave it ahead of a new military operation there.

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee said certain neighborhoods in Deir al-Balah are now deemed a “dangerous combat zone,” calling on residents to move westward ahead of an imminent attack in the area.

“Many are seeking shelter in parts of Al Mawasi, where around 30,000 people are packed into every km²,” UNRWA said, referring to an area designated by the Israeli army as a “safe zone” for Palestinian civilians.

“Before the war, there were only 1,200 per km²,” it added.

Last week, the UNRWA said that Israel has reduced the so-called "humanitarian safe zone" in Gaza to just 11% of the territory, causing widespread panic and fear among displaced people.

According to Gaza’s government media office, two million people in Gaza have been displaced by Israel’s ongoing offensive on the enclave.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in over 40,200 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and nearly 93,000 injuries, according to local health authorities.

The ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.