Israel Strikes Kill 16, Orders Evacuation Of Part Of Gaza Humanitarian Zone

Israeli strikes killed at least 16 Palestinians in eastern areas of Khan Younis, Gaza health officials said on Monday, shortly after Israel issued new orders to evacuate some neighborhoods after what it said was renewed attacks from those zones.

To allow this, the military said it was adjusting the borders of a humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi to keep the civilian population away from areas of combat.

Palestinian health officials said at least 16 Palestinians were killed in Israeli tank shelling in Bani Suhaila town east of Khan Younis. The area was also bombarded by air, sources say.

The military statement said the new orders were due to renewed Palestinian attacks, including rockets launched from the targeted areas in eastern Khan Younis. The evacuation orders did not include health institutions, Palestinians said.

The Palestinians, the United Nations, and international relief agencies have said there is no safe place left in Gaza.

Earlier in July, dozens of Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli attacks in the Al-Mawasi humanitarian-designated areas.

Israel said the attacks were aimed at armed militants, including some top Hamas military chiefs. Palestinian officials called those allegations false and used to justify the attacks.

Displacement

Many Palestinians have been uprooted multiple times in search of safety during Israeli’s punishing air and ground campaign.

Earlier this month, Israel said it estimates at least 1.8 million Palestinians are now in the humanitarian zone it declared covering a stretch of about 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) along the Mediterranean.

Much of that area is now blanketed with tent camps that lack sanitation and medical facilities and have limited access to aid, UN and humanitarian groups say. Families live in the midst of mountains of trash and streams contaminated by sewage.

The announcement came during delicate negotiations seeking a ceasefire in Gaza, with US and Israeli officials expressing hope that an agreement is closer than ever, and as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to make a much-anticipated trip to the United States to meet with President Joe Biden and address Congress.

A negotiating team will be sent to continue talks on Thursday, Netanyahu’s office said. Egypt, Qatar and the United States continue to push Israel and Hamas toward a phased ceasefire deal that would stop the fighting and free the hostages.

The war in Gaza has killed more than 38,900 people, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.

The war began with an assault by Hamas militants on southern Israel on Oct. 7 that killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took about 250 hostages.

About 120 remain held, about a third of them believed to be dead, according to Israeli authorities.

The Israeli military said on Monday that it is continuing to operate in central and southern Gaza. On Sunday, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 15 people, including women and children, in Gaza, according to hospital officials and a body count by an Associated Press journalist.

The already precarious humanitarian conditions inside besieged Gaza have worsened with the discovery of the polio virus as water and sanitation services have deteriorated for the territory’s 2.3 million people, most of them displaced.

Traces of the virus were found in sewage samples in Gaza. The World Health Organization has said no one has been treated for symptoms caused by the disease.

Israel’s military said soldiers would be vaccinated and it would work with organizations to bring in vaccines for Palestinians.

Netanyahu has vowed to wipe out Hamas’ military and governing capabilities and secure the return of the remaining hostages.

Families of hostages and thousands of other Israelis have held weekly demonstrations to urge the prime minister to reach a ceasefire deal that would bring their loved ones home.