Patients and displaced Palestinians flee Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, the last functioning medical facility in central Gaza, following the latest evacuation orders.
The Israeli army demanded on Sunday that Palestinians evacuate an area east of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, previously classified as a “humanitarian zone”.
Later, the Gaza government’s media office confirmed that Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital “is not located in the red zone defined by the (Israeli) occupation.”
Israel has attacked several hospitals in Gaza since October 7.
“To all residents and displaced people in the Deir al-Balah neighborhood, in block 128, in the area marked on the map, the forces will operate aggressively… in your area,” Avichay Adraee, an army spokesman, said on X, designating it a “dangerous combat zone.”
“For your safety, evacuate immediately to the western area (of Al-Mawasi),” he added.
On several occasions during the ten-month war in Gaza, Israel has ordered mass evacuations to “safe” or “humanitarian” areas.
Human rights groups and international observers have denounced the inhumanity of these orders and the massive suffering that results from them.
Palestinians have often been attacked by Israel while moving towards these “safe areas” as well as after reaching them.
Israel is continuing its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, despite a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
The attack left more than 40,400 Palestinians dead, mostly women and children, and around 93,500 injured, according to local health authorities.
The ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.