By Anadolu staff
ANKARA (AA) – Gaza’s Interior Ministry called on Palestinian civilians on Sunday to ignore Israeli orders to evacuate their areas and move south.
“Israeli claims about the presence of safe zones in southern Gaza are lies as Israel commits crimes and massacres in all areas of the enclave,” the ministry said in a statement.
“We call on citizens in northern Gaza to ignore Israeli threats to evacuate their homes and head south,” it added.
The Israeli army issued new evacuation orders on Sunday for Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza to leave their homes and move to areas designated by the Israeli army as a “safe zone” in central and southern Gaza.
Human rights organizations and international observers have condemned the inhumane orders and the resulting mass suffering of Palestinians. Furthermore, Palestinians were often attacked by the Israeli military both on their way to such "safe areas" and after they arrived.
Last July, the Israeli army hit camps of displaced civilians in al-Mawasi in southern Gaza, killing more than 90 Palestinians and injuring nearly 300 others, according to official Palestinian sources.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
More than 41,800 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 96,900 others injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.
* Writing by Ikram Kouachi