Agencies
Palestinian Territories
Medical sources on Thursday said at least 42 people were killed since dawn in Gaza as the Israeli military stepped up operations in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza and Khan Younis in the south.
At least 40,265 people have been killed and 93,144 wounded in Israeli military attacks on Gaza since October 7, the enclave’s Health Ministry said.
Of those, 42 Palestinians were killed and 163 wounded in the past 24-hour reporting period, the ministry added.
Meanwhile, the Israeli spokesperson for Arabic language media announced a new evacuation order for the Gaza Strip. Residents were warned to evacuate several areas in Khan Younis governorate in southern Gaza, including Bani Suheila, Sheikh Nasser, Barbakh and as-Satr al-Gharbi, Avichay Adraee posted on X.
The order came after thousands of Palestinians fled parts of Deir el-Balah as the Israeli military issued an evacuation order and its forces advanced deeper into the overcrowded central Gaza city.
The Israeli military has targeted areas it had designated as safe zones on several occasions previously, killing Palestinians taking refuge there.
Thousands of Palestinians have fled parts of Deir el-Balah in the Gaza Strip as the Israeli military issued new evacuation orders and its forces advanced deeper into the overcrowded central city.
The area was previously designated by Israel as a so-called “humanitarian safe zone” for civilians, but the Israeli army ordered residents, many of them displaced multiple times already, to leave before another military operation.
Military spokesman Avichay Adraee said certain neighbourhoods in Deir el-Balah were now deemed a “dangerous combat zone”, calling on residents to move westwards before an imminent attack in the area.
The warning has forced thousands of civilians to flee on foot, carrying small bags and some basic belongings such as blankets, bedding and a little food, witnesses said.
Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF, said its staff are among the thousands of people who are having to flee central Gaza after Israel’s military issued new evacuation orders for Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis.
“The continuous forced displacement of people is inhumane,” MSF project coordinator Jacob Granger said in a statement.
“People have no belongings left, nowhere left to go. There is no room to put tents up. The overcrowding, severe lack of water, and minimal sanitation services are fuelling the spread of diseases. We are unable to keep up with the overwhelming needs.”
The UN agency for children’s Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa Adele Khodr has urged world leaders to secure a ceasefire deal, warning that the daily violence in Gaza should not be the “new normal”.
“With each day passing, the violence intensifies in #Gaza: small children’s bodies being pulled out from under the rubble, injured children crying in fear with no safe space or place remaining for them,” she posted on X.
“The daily violence should not become the new normal. World leaders have to act to save children’s lives. A ceasefire is needed now.”
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council that a ceasefire and captive release deal “now is in sight” as she urges the 15-member body to press Hamas to accept a bridging proposal.
“It’s a decisive moment for ceasefire talks and for the region, and so every member of this council should continue to send strong messages to other actors in the region to avoid actions that would move us away from finalising this deal,” she said.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah and Israel reported cross-border attacks.
The armed Lebanese group announced that it had attacked seven Israeli targets near the southern border of Lebanon.
It said it attacked Israeli army positions in the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona with a swarm of drones and targeted two groups of soldiers near the Matla and Ghajar Israeli army sites, causing deaths and injuries.
Hezbollah also said it used a drone to attack espionage equipment at the site of Jal al-Allam, and shelled the sites of Malikiya, al-Marj and the Branit barracks.
On the Israeli side, the army said it fired artillery shells at the towns of Kafr Shuba, Sheba, Khiam and Yaron. Israeli warplanes launched dawn raids on the towns of Aita al-Shaab, Kafrakla, Muhaibib, Ramyah, Kuthriyah al-Sayyad, Kafr Shuba and Zabqin.
Tensions remain high along the border as Israel continues to brace for a response from Hezbollah for a strike in late July on Beirut’s southern
suburbs that killed senior Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr.
