By Anadolu staff
The Israeli army issued on Friday fresh evacuation orders for residents of several areas of central and southern Gaza Strip that were classified as “humanitarian safe zones” by the army.
In a statement, the Israeli army ordered residents of neighborhoods north of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip and neighborhoods in eastern Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip to evacuate the areas.
It claimed that the Palestinian resistance group Hamas “operates” from these areas and that they will be “dangerous combat zones.”
Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack last October by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
Since then, an ongoing Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians.
Over 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.
*Writing by Ikram Kouachi