The Israeli military has ordered further evacuations in the southern Gaza Strip after a deadly air strike on a school being used as an emergency shelter in the north killed more than 100 Palestinians, according to local health authorities.
Hundreds of families left their homes and shelters in Khan Younis early Sunday, clutching their belongings in their arms, in search of refuge.
Israel has repeatedly ordered mass evacuations as its troops return to badly damaged areas where they previously fought Palestinian militants. The vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced, often multiple times, by the 10-month war.
Hundreds of thousands are crowded into squalid tent camps with few public services or seeking shelter in schools like the one hit in Gaza City on Saturday. Palestinians say they do not feel safe anywhere in the besieged territory.
The latest evacuation orders apply to areas in Khan Younis, including parts of an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone from which the military says rockets have been fired. Israel accuses Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups of hiding among civilians and launching attacks from residential areas.
Khan Younis, the second-largest city in the Gaza Strip, was largely destroyed in Israeli air and ground strikes. Tens of thousands of people fled again last week after an evacuation order was issued.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, the Palestinian death toll from the war is approaching 40,000 and more than 92,000 have been injured. Aid agencies are struggling to cope with the devastating humanitarian crisis in the territory, while international experts warn of famine.
