UN: Israel's evacuation order for Khan Younis covers tens of thousands

Displaced Palestinians from areas in east Khan Yunis arrive in the city as they flee after the Israeli army issued a new evacuation order, July 2, 2024. [AFP]

The United Nations expressed deep concern Tuesday over an Israeli evacuation order for a large swath of the southern Gaza Strip, which it said affects tens of thousands of civilians.

"Yesterday's order for evacuation of 117 square kilometers in Khan Younis and Rafah governorates applies to about a third of the Gaza Strip – making it the largest such order since October, when residents were ordered to evacuate northern Gaza," Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters.

The U.N. agency that assists Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, estimates that nearly 250,000 people may have resided in the areas under the order at the time it was issued.

Dujarric said people in those areas are left with the "impossible choice" of having to relocate again, to areas that have barely any spaces or services, or staying where they know fighting will take place.

He said the new evacuation order covers an area with more than 90 schools, most of which are housing the displaced, as well as four medical points.

Israeli forces carried out attacks in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, with Palestinian health officials saying at least eight people were killed.

The attacks included bombardments of Khan Younis, a day after Israel issued its latest evacuation order to Palestinians in the city.

Israel's military said it carried out airstrikes overnight in an area of Khan Younis where militants had fired 20 rockets toward Israeli settlements.

More Israeli airstrikes targeted the southern city of Rafah, while Israeli ground troops conducted operations against Hamas in central Gaza, the military said.

Israel has repeatedly told Palestinians to leave certain parts of Gaza, usually ahead of military offensives, in a move Israel says is meant to protect civilians from the war. The evacuations, along with the fighting, have meant people have had to flee multiple times in search of safety.