CAIRO/GAZA: Israel issued new evacuation orders for Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip late Sunday, forcing more families to flee, saying its forces intended to carry out operations against Hamas and other groups operating in the area. Israel has issued a series of evacuation orders across Gaza in recent days, the most since the start of the 10-month war, prompting protests by Palestinians, the United Nations and aid workers over the reduction of humanitarian space and the lack of safe spaces.
Deir al-Balah Municipality says Israeli evacuation orders have left more than 250,000 people homeless
Israeli airstrikes killed at least seven Palestinians on Monday, doctors said, including two in Deir al-Balah, home to about a million people; two at a school in the al-Nusairat camp and three in the southern city of Rafah, near the Egyptian border.
The new order has forced families and many patients to leave Al-Aqsa Hospital, the main health facility in Deir al-Balah, home to hundreds of thousands of residents and displaced people, for fear of attack.
The hospital is located near the evacuation area.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a statement on Channel X late Sunday that the explosion, which occurred about 250 meters (820 feet) from the MSF-supported Al-Aqsa hospital, had caused panic.
“As a result, MSF is considering whether to temporarily suspend wound care while continuing efforts to save lives,”
Of the approximately 650 total patients, only 100 remain in hospital, with seven in intensive care, according to the Gaza health ministry.
“This situation is unacceptable. Al-Aqsa has been operating beyond its capacity for weeks due to the lack of alternatives for patients. All conflicting parties must respect the hospital, including patients’ access to medical care,” the statement added.
Diplomatic deadlock
Sawaan Abu Afesh said she and her children have been evacuated 11 times.
“I left half of my children near the furniture and now I am with my children and my daughter. Only God can help us… I have no money for transportation. I will go to District 17 where my family lives. I took my children with me and three children were left there. I don’t know where they went,” the woman said.
The escalation of violence comes with little hope of an end to the war anytime soon, as diplomatic efforts by mediators Qatar, Egypt and the United States have failed to narrow the gap between Israel and Hamas, whose leaders have often shifted blame for the lack of unity.
Both Hamas and Israel disagree with several deals put forward by mediators at talks in Cairo on Sunday, two Egyptian security sources said.
However, a senior US official described the talks as “constructive,” saying they were being conducted in the spirit of all parties reaching a “final, actionable agreement.”
Hamas official Osama Hamdan said Hamas rejected new conditions set by Israel during talks, to which it did not participate, and said US comments about an imminent ceasefire were false and aimed at achieving an election result.
US President Joe Biden and his administration face growing protests in the US over aid to Israel ahead of November's election.
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according to the Gaza health ministry. The crowded territory has been devastated and more than 2.3 million people have been displaced multiple times and face severe shortages of food and medicine, humanitarian agencies say.
The war was sparked by a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, which left 1,200 people dead and dozens of Israelis taking more than 250 hostage.
