Israeli army orders fresh evacuations in Gaza as fighting continues

JERUSALEM (Reuters) — The Israeli army ordered a fresh evacuation of parts of southern and central Gaza it had earlier declared a humanitarian safe zone on Friday, saying Hamas had used the areas as a launchpad for firing mortars and rockets at Israel.

It added that warning flyers and text messages had been sent out in the area north of the southern city of Khan Younis and in the eastern part of Deir Al-Balah, where tens of thousands of people fled for shelter from fighting in other parts of Gaza.

“The warning to civilians is being issued to mitigate harm to the civilian population and to enable civilians to move away from the combat zone,” the military said in a statement.

Earlier, the military said it had hit an area in Khan Younis from where rockets were fired towards the community of Kissufim on Thursday, finding weapons including shoulder-fired missiles and explosives.

The latest evacuation warnings came as negotiators in Doha were due to meet for a second day of talks aimed at reaching a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and bring Israeli and foreign hostages home.

The bulk of the 2.3 million population has been displaced at least several times since the start of Israel’s campaign in Gaza, which began after a vast attack by Hamas against Israel on Oct 7. Even in the areas marked as humanitarian safe zones, there have been regular reports of casualties from Israeli strikes.

Israel accuses Hamas and other militant groups of placing fighters among civilians on purpose; Hamas denies that. The fighting has become more dispersed anyway and less coordinated as Hamas has turned to more guerrilla warfare-style tactics by small groups of fighters.