Israel reduces Gaza’s al-Mawasi ‘humanitarian zone’

Gaza (Quds News Network)- The Israeli military launched artillery and air strikes on eastern Khan Yunis city in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday, minutes after demanding residents evacuate what it had previously designated a “humanitarian zone.”

According to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), those fleeing Khan Yunis – where over 80 people were killed by Israeli forces and 263 others injured within minutes of issuing the evacuation order on Monday – appear to be heading towards Deir el-Balah and western areas of Khan Yunis.

Both areas are already heavily overcrowded, have limited shelters and services available, and can barely accommodate the additional influx of displaced people, OCHA noted.

The evacuation area in Khan Yunis encompasses areas already placed under evacuation orders on 1 July and newly designated areas, including 8.7 square kilometers in the eastern parts of the so-called “humanitarian zone” in Al Mawasi.

The area of the “humanitarian zone” as designated by the Israeli military has thus decreased by 14.8 per cent, from 58.9 to 50.2 square kilometres.