18-8-2024 (GAZA) A devastating Israeli airstrike has reportedly claimed the lives of at least 15 Palestinians and left dozens wounded in the Gaza town of Zawayda, according to the official Palestinian news agency WAFA. The incident, which occurred on Saturday, comes as Israel issues new evacuation orders for parts of central Gaza, citing Hamas rocket fire in the vicinity.
The Israeli military has acknowledged reports of the casualties and stated that they are investigating the matter. Concurrently, Israel’s military spokesperson in Arabic has disseminated evacuation instructions via social media platform X, directing residents in central Gaza, including the Maghazi district near Zawayda, to relocate to a designated humanitarian zone.
The military spokesperson emphasised that militants were launching rockets from these locations, necessitating imminent military action. However, Reuters was unable to immediately verify whether any areas of Zawayda were included in the evacuation orders or if residents had received the military’s instructions.
This latest development follows Friday’s evacuation orders for two sections in western Khan Younis, which were previously designated as part of a humanitarian zone. The Israeli military deemed these areas dangerous, citing regular rocket fire by militants.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that Friday’s evacuation orders, which extended beyond the humanitarian zones, affected approximately 170,000 displaced individuals. An OCHA report stated, “This is one of the largest evacuation orders affecting the zone to date and it shrinks the size of the so-called ‘humanitarian area’ to about 41 square kilometres, or 11 per cent of the total area of the Gaza Strip.”
The ongoing conflict has displaced the majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents and has resulted in widespread destruction across the enclave over the past ten months.
Meanwhile, ceasefire talks in Doha, mediated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt, paused on Friday. Negotiators are scheduled to reconvene next week in pursuit of an agreement to end the hostilities between Israel and Hamas and secure the release of remaining hostages.
The current war erupted on 7 October when Hamas launched an attack on Israel, resulting in the deaths of 1,200 people, predominantly civilians, and the abduction of approximately 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
Israel’s subsequent military campaign has led to the deaths of over 40,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, as reported by Gaza health authorities. The Israeli military has lost 330 soldiers in Gaza and claims that at least a third of the Palestinian casualties were combatants.
