Israeli army orders Palestinian civilians to evacuate Beit Lahia in northern Gaza

By Mohammed Majid

GAZA CITY, Palestine (AA) - The Israeli army ordered Palestinian civilians on Tuesday to immediately evacuate their areas in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee published a list of the areas that need to be evacuated on his X account.

“You are in a dangerous combat zone,” Adraee said, adding that the Israeli army will operate against “terror infrastructure” and operatives in the area.

The Israeli army has heavily shelled the towns of Beit Hanoun, Beit Lahia, and the eastern part of Jabalia in the northern Gaza Strip since early morning, forcing hundreds to flee their homes, according to eyewitnesses.

Israel has waged a brutal military offensive on the Palestinian territory since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas, which killed nearly 1,200 people.

Nearly 34,200 Palestinians have since been killed and more than 77,000 others injured amid mass destruction and severe shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war, now in its 200th day, has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul