Middle East Monitor, August 24 https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20240824-israel-turns-safe-humanitarian-zones-into-rubble-leaves-only-9-5-of-gaza-for-civilians-to-shelter/ . . . Finally, as of August 2024, the Israeli army has reduced these “safe humanitarian zones” to a mere 35 square kilometers (13.5 square miles), or 9.5% of Gaza’s total area. This zone includes only about 3.5% of agricultural, service, and commercial areas, further shrinking the spaces where civilians can seek refuge, the authorities said, detailing how Israeli forces systematically destroyed the “safe zones.” # # #
Israeli attacks kill 28 across Gaza Strip, victims still under rubble *Israeli army ramps up attacks on Deir el-Balah over the weekend as authorities say 40,405 Palestinians now killed across Gaza.* Al Jazeera, August 25 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/25/at-least-eight-people-killed-in-israeli-air-attack-in-gazas-deir-el-balah . . . Witnesses reported that there was a drone strike before an Israeli jet dropped a giant bomb. The Wafa news agency reported, quoting local sources in Gaza, that the Israeli artillery launched a heavy barrage of attacks amid a series of intense air raids on the enclave. They struck a house belonging to the Maammar family in al-Hekker, resulting in the killings of the family members. Last week, the Israeli army called on Palestinians seeking shelter in the eastern part of Deir el-Balah to move westwards as the area had been declared a “red zone”. . . . Palestinians ‘on the run and under fire’ as 90 percent of Gaza forcibly displaced: UN *Israel has issued 12 evacuation orders in the month of August alone* The Cradle, News Desk, August 23 https://thecradle.co/articles/palestinians-on-the-run-and-under-fire-as-90-percent-of-gaza-forcibly-displaced-un Israel’s forced evacuation of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has displaced 90 percent of the territory’s population, a top UN official said on 22 August. “They are forcing families to flee again, often under fire and with the few belongings they can carry with them, into an ever-shrinking area,” said UN Deputy Special Coordinator and Resident Muhannad Hadi on Thursday. Palestinian civilians are being stripped of shelter and humanitarian supplies, deprived of medical assistance, and are “running from one destroyed place to another, with no end in sight.” . . . *Israeli Expulsion Decrees Disrupt last Gaza Aid Hub, jeopardizing Aid Workers, Thousands of Civilians* by Juan Cole Informed Comment, August 23, 2024 https://www.juancole.com/2024/08/expulsion-jeopardizing-civilians.html The Norwegian Refugee Council, an aid NGO active in Palestine, reports that new Israeli decrees have forced thousands in Gaza’s Deir al-Balah to flee once more, and have disrupted the Strip’s last aid hub. The former “safe zone” is now under concerted attack by Israeli forces. It and numerous other aid agencies again are calling for an immediate ceasefire, in the light of two International Court of Justice decisions against Israel. They point out that “Civilians who are unable or unwilling to leave their homes remain protected under international humanitarian law.” . . . I should underline this statement. NRC is saying that when the Israeli commanders keep pushing thousands of families from one place to another, they are also displacing the humanitarian volunteers who are trying to provide them food, water, medicine and other essentials that are in short supply. They note that at least 24 non-governmental organizations have reported disruptions due to these directives in the past week, resulting in the forced relocation of staff, obstructed operations, and the abandonment of at least one location sheltering civilians under assault. Warehouses storing supplies are situated within the areas subjected to these orders, making them inaccessible. . . . Israeli army invades ‘most crowded displacement camp in history,’ bombs Palestinians in shelters *Over the past week, the Israeli army has ordered a million civilians to evacuate central Gaza, and has bombed two schools sheltering displaced people in Gaza City mere minutes after issuing warnings.* by Tareq S. Hajjaj, Mondoweiss, August 22, 2024 https://mondoweiss.net/2024/08/israeli-army-invades-most-crowded-displacement-camp-in-history-bombs-palestinians-in-shelters/ On Wednesday, August 21, the latest Israeli evacuation warnings fell out of the sky over the most crowded part of Gaza, Deir al-Balah in the center of the besieged enclave. The leaflets and phone calls from the Israeli army referenced a map informing people which numbered block would be targeted for an imminent invasion. These are the tools the Israeli army uses to control where people in Gaza move, forcing them to evacuate from one area to another over and over again. Last week, evacuation orders were sent to areas in Khan Younis and Nuseirat to the south, causing a mass exodus to Deir al-Balah. Those same refugees now have to move yet again, but Khan Younis and parts of Nuseirat are still in critical danger due to the ongoing Israeli invasion. There is nowhere left to go. . . . The Mustafa Hafez School is located in the al-Rimal area east of Gaza City. It is the ninth school hosting refugees to be bombed in recent weeks, according to a statement released by the Gaza Civil Defense on Tuesday. . . . “We ran looking for our children. What we found was a place full of bloodstains and body parts,” Motaz told Mondoweiss. “The little children, one and two years old, were blown out of the building as a result of the explosion. We started looking for them after the explosion, and found them outside on the street.” Motaz says that he and his family had been sure that the school was safe and far away from any fighting. “Only civilian families live here. Most of them are women, children, and the elderly. There is no danger or anything suspicious going on around this school.” “But any assumptions we had were misplaced. We were bombed inside a shelter,” he said, describing how he pulled his sister-in-law and her children out from under the rubble. “Some of them survived, others we couldn’t find.” . . . 'A Living Hell': Desperate Gazans Flee Yet Again After Latest Israeli Evacuation Orders *"It's a war on children," said a UNRWA spokesperson. "All we see here is children dying, children being killed."* by Jake Johnson, Common Dreams, Aug 22, 2024 https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-evacuation-orders Israel's U.S.-armed military struck another devastating blow to Gaza's increasingly weary, sick, and starving population on Wednesday by issuing evacuation orders for parts of Deir al-Balah, a city in the center of the enclave that was previously deemed a "safe zone." Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian group known internationally as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), expressed outrage at Israel's latest forced evacuation of Palestinian civilians, many of whom have been displaced multiple times since last October. In the wake of the new orders, many Palestinians—children among them—were seen fleeing on foot with whatever belongings they could carry. The forcible transfer of civilians is a crime against humanity <https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/forcible_transfer> under international law. . . . Israel Is Evacuating Palestinians From Safe Zones With Critical Water Wells *Israel’s ground assault is now so widespread that Palestinians have no escape from the front line.* by Sharon Zhang, Truthout, August 22, 2024 https://truthout.org/articles/israel-is-evacuating-palestinians-from-safe-zones-with-critical-water-wells/ -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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