Thousands flee northern Gaza after Israel issues evacuation orders

Thousands of Palestinians have fled the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoon following Israeli evacuation orders amid deadly air strikes on the war-torn territory.

Civilians began to flee early on Tuesday morning towards the nearby town of Jabalia in search of safety, after the Israeli army issued evacuation orders for Beit Hanoon in northern Gaza and Khuza’a and Abasan in the south to immediately leave the areas, calling them “dangerous combat zones.”

“For your own safety, you must evacuate immediately to known shelters in western Gaza City and in Khan Younis,” army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on his X account.

At least 404 Palestinians were killed and 562 others injured in Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, breaking a ceasefire that lasted nearly two months, the Ministry of Health said.

“Many victims are still under the rubble and efforts are under way to recover them,” the ministry added in a statement.

The air strikes were the largest Israeli attacks since the ceasefire with the Palestinian group Hamas took effect on January 19.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said entire families were among the victims, noting that ambulances and teams from the Palestinian Civil Defence were unable to bring all victims to hospitals.

“These brutal massacres confirm once again that the Israeli occupation army only knows the language of killing, destruction, and genocide,” the statement said.

Despite the ceasefire, local authorities in Gaza had reported almost daily violations by the Israeli army.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 48,577 Palestinians have been killed and 112,041 others wounded in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 2023. Thousands of others are missing under the rubble and presumed dead, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office.