Israel’s military has issued evacuation orders to residents in parts of Gaza City, triggering a new wave of displacement. Additionally, a Gaza hospital director sustained injuries due to an Israeli drone strike, according to Palestinian medics.
The recent evacuation orders for the Shejaia suburb, shared by the Israeli army spokesperson on X, previously known as Twitter, last night were attributed to Palestinian militants launching rockets from this densely populated area in northern Gaza.
“For your safety, you must evacuate immediately to the south,” stated the military’s announcement. Hamas’ armed wing claimed responsibility for the rocket attack, asserting that it targeted an Israeli army base across the border.
A Palestinian boy is seen sitting on the debris from an Israeli strike on Nuseirat refugee camp.
Video footage circulating on social and Palestinian media, which Reuters has yet to verify, depicted residents fleeing Shejaia using donkey carts and rickshaws, with many others, including children with backpacks, walking away.
In central Gaza, health officials reported that at least ten individuals have lost their lives in Israeli airstrikes targeting the urban camps of Al-Maghazi and Al-Bureij since last night.
Hospital director wounded by gunfire
In northern Gaza, health officials indicated that an Israeli drone dropped bombs on Kamal Adwan Hospital, injuring its director, Hussam Abu Safiya.
Israeli forces have been active in northern Gaza since early last month, targeting what they claim are regrouping Hamas militants.
“This will not deter us from fulfilling our humanitarian mission, and we will continue this work at any cost,” said Mr. Abu Safiya in a video statement shared by the health ministry.
“We are being targeted daily. They shot at me recently, but this will not stop us,” he added from his hospital bed.
Israeli forces allege that armed militants utilize civilian structures, including residential buildings, hospitals, and schools, for operational cover. Hamas refutes this, accusing Israeli forces of indiscriminately attacking populated areas.
Palestinians in Khan Younis in southern Gaza transport injured relatives to the hospital.
Kamal Adwan is among three hospitals in northern Gaza that are barely functioning, as the health ministry reports that Israeli forces have detained and expelled medical staff and obstructed the delivery of emergency medical aid, food, and fuel supplies.
In recent weeks, Israel claims to have facilitated the provision of medical and fuel supplies and the transfer of patients from northern Gaza hospitals in collaboration with international agencies like the World Health Organization.
Residents in three besieged towns of northern Gaza—Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun—reported that Israeli forces have demolished hundreds of homes since resuming operations in an area that Israel previously declared clear of militants.
Palestinians contend that Israel appears intent on permanently depopulating the region to establish a buffer zone along Gaza’s northern border, a claim that Israel denies.
According to Gaza officials, Israel’s military campaign has claimed more than 44,000 lives, forcibly displaced nearly all of the enclave’s 2.3 million residents at least once, and reduced large areas of the narrow coastal territory to rubble.
The conflict ignited after a cross-border assault by Hamas-led militants on 7 October 2023, resulting in around 1,200 fatalities and over 250 hostages taken back to Gaza, as reported by Israeli statistics.
