Families flee after new Israeli evacuation orders in Gaza as ceasefire
hopes dim
Send a link to a friend
[August 26, 2024]
By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Ramadan Abed
CAIRO/GAZA (Reuters) - Israel issued new evacuation orders for Deir Al-Balah
in the central Gaza Strip late on Sunday, forcing more families to flee,
saying forces intended to act against militant group Hamas and others
operating in the area.
In recent days, Israel has issued several evacuation orders across Gaza,
the most since the beginning of the 10-month war, prompting an outcry
from Palestinians, the United Nations and relief officials over the
reduction of humanitarian zones and the absence of safe areas.
The Deir Al-Balah municipality says Israeli evacuation orders have so
far displaced 250,000 people.
Israeli military strikes killed at least seven Palestinians on Monday,
medics said. Two were killed in Deir Al-Balah, where around a million
people were sheltering, two at a school in the Al-Nuseirat camp and
three in the southern city of Rafah, near the border with Egypt.
The new orders forced many families and patients to leave Al-Aqsa
Hospital, the main medical facility in Deir Al-Balah, where hundreds of
thousands of residents and displaced people had taken shelter, for fear
of bombardments.
The hospital is close to the area covered by the evacuation notice.
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said in a statement on X on Sunday night
that an explosion approximately 250 meters (820 feet) away from the MSF-supported
Al-Aqsa Hospital triggered panic.
"As a result, MSF is considering whether to suspend wound care for the
time being, while trying to maintain life-saving treatment."
From around 650 patients, only 100 remain in the hospital, with seven in
intensive care unit, it said, citing Gaza's health ministry.
"This situation is unacceptable. Al Aqsa has been operating well beyond
capacity for weeks due to the lack of alternatives for patients. All
warring parties must respect the hospital, as well as patients' access
to medical care," it added.
DIPLOMATIC IMPASSE
Sawasn Abu Afesh said she and her children had now been displaced 11
times.
"I left half of my children behind me near my furniture and I am now
with my little ones and my daughter, only God can help us...I have no
money for transportation I will go to area 17 where my family is staying
on my foot. I took my kids and three are left behind. No idea where,"
the woman said.
[to top of second column]
|
Mourners react during the funeral of Palestinians killed in Israeli
strikes, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, at Nasser hospital, in Khan
Younis, southern Gaza Strip August 26, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
The escalation comes with little hope of an end in sight to the war
as diplomacy by mediators, Qatar, Egypt, and the United States has
so far failed to close the gap between Israel and Hamas, whose
leaders traded blame over responsibility for the lack of accord.
Neither Hamas, nor Israel, agreed to several compromises presented
by mediators at talks in Cairo on Sunday, two Egyptian security
sources said.
A senior U.S. official, however, described the talks as
"constructive," saying they were conducted in a spirit on all sides
to reach "a final and implementable agreement."
Hamas official Osama Hamdan said the group rejected new conditions
made by Israel during the talks, which the group didn't attend, and
added that U.S. comments over an imminent ceasefire deal were false
and aimed to serve election purposes.
U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration have faced growing
protests in the U.S. over aid for Israel ahead of November
elections.
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, according
to Gaza's health ministry. The crowded enclave has been laid to
waste and most of its 2.3 million people have been displaced
multiple times and face acute shortages of food and medicine,
humanitarian agencies say.
The war was triggered by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which
killed 1,200 people, by Israeli tallies, with more than 250 taken
hostage.
(Reporting and writing by Nidal al-Mughrabi. Additional reporting by
Ramadan Abed in Gaza; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]This material
may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|