The Israeli military dropped leaflets telling Palestinians to head south to an area it bombed on the same day.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military told the residents of Gaza City in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate and head south, signaling its assault on the city will escalate even more.
The military dropped leaflets that said “all those in Gaza City” should head to Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, but nowhere in the Strip is safe from Israeli bombs as so-called “safe zones” have frequently been hit.
The UN noted that Deir al-Balah is already overcrowded, and the area was also targeted by Israeli strikes early Wednesday. Israel bombed four houses in Deir al-Balah and the nearby Nearby Nuseirat refugee camp, killing 20 Palestinians, including six children and three women.
AP reported that one of its reporters counted the bodies at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital and that the houses in Deir al-Balah were in the so-called “humanitarian safe zone” where Israel told Palestinians in Gaza City to flee.
Israel has ordered the evacuation of Gaza City several times throughout the past nine months of its genocidal war. The city lies north of the Netzarim Corridor, a 38-square-kilometer zone that separates the north from the rest of the Strip. The Israeli military has demolished most buildings in the corridor and is building bases and paving roads.
According to AP, there was no mass exodus from Gaza City after the evacuation order since Palestinians understand there’s no place safe in the south. Palestinians also know that if they leave their homes, they likely won’t be able to return. It’s estimated that around 300,000 Palestinians remain in north Gaza, the majority being in Gaza City.
Haaretz reported this week that including the Netzarim Corridor, a “buffer zone” along the Gaza-Israel border, and the Philadelphi Corridor on the Egypt-Gaza border, the Israeli military controls about 26% of Gaza’s territory. Many Israeli soldiers and politicians, including members of the Netanyahu government, want to re-establish Jewish settlements in these areas. Clearing Palestinians out of the north would allow Israel to conquer more territory for potential settlements.