UPDATES HEADLINE, DECK; MORE DETAILS FROM ISRAELI ARMY STATEMENT; MORE CASUALTIES
JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army on Friday evening ordered Palestinians in several areas in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate in preparation for a possible military operation.
The military statement ordered Palestinians to flee towards shelters in western Gaza City, claiming this is a safe area.
In a statement, the Israeli army said: “All those present in the 10 neighborhoods and areas of Al-Salateen, Al-Atatra, Al-Seifa, Al-Karama, and Al-Ghabn (northwestern Gaza Strip) must evacuate.”
It added that the army will "forcefully operate" against Palestinian groups in the area following the launch of rockets towards Israel.
Later, five Palestinians were killed in Israeli artillery shelling targeting the areas of Beit Lahia, Al-Salateen, and Ezbet Abed Rabbo, a medical source told Anadolu.
The source added that the body of a Palestinian woman was recovered, along with several injured, following an Israeli artillery strike near the gate of Al-Sheema School in northern Gaza.
Several times during the 10-month war on Gaza, Israel had ordered mass evacuations to safe areas.
Human rights groups and international observers decried the inhumanity of the orders and the mass suffering caused as a result. In addition, Palestinians often found themselves attacked by Israel en route to such “safe areas” as well as after they reached such zones.
Earlier, sirens were activated in Israel’s southern city of Sderot and areas around Gaza after the firing of rockets from Gaza, according to Israeli media.
Israel has continued its offensive on Gaza following a Hamas attack last Oct. 7 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 over 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.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar and Mohammad Sio