Israel Orders Evacuations in Southern Gaza After Gaining Full Control of Al-Shifa Hospital

Harshita Suresh November 17, 2023

1 minute read

Israel’s military up till now has sought to present southern Gaza as some kind of safe zone as it pushed Gazans to evacuate the northern half of the Strip to pave the way for the ongoing ground and aerial assault. But all the while there have still been intermittent airstrikes on southern Gaza after some one million or more civilians have been internally displaced.

New leaflets have been mass dropped over the Strip warning towns located in southern Gaza that inhabitants must evacuate. “Palestinians in parts of southern Gaza said they received evacuation notices Thursday,” the AP reports.

“The signal that fighting is about to expand in the south comes a day after Israeli forces began searching a north Gaza hospital where they claimed Hamas militants operate — a claim that Hamas and hospital staff deny,” the report continues. Already some two-thirds of the Strip’s 2.3 million people have been made homeless by the fighting.

The leaflets dropped over parts of the south reportedly said, “For your safety, you need to evacuate your places of residence immediately and head to known shelters,” and named multiple specific neighbourhoods.

“Anyone near terrorists or their facilities puts their life at risk, and every house used by terrorists will be targeted,” the leaflets said, strongly suggesting that the IDF sees the locations as homes to terror bases.

These southern towns are already overflowing with the internally displaced, including at schools, medical facilities, and sprawling makeshift tent cities.

IDF releases footage showing the Navy's elite Shayetet 13 unit capturing Gaza's port a few days ago. pic.twitter.com/2cXpaU6NL5
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) November 16, 2023

The latest death toll from Gaza’s health ministry says over 11,300 – mostly civilians – have been killed in Gaza since early October airstrikes began. The United States has still not backed a ceasefire. Over 50 IDF troops have been confirmed killed since the ground assault began.

At the same time, a new United Nations statement compiled by a group of UN experts and special rapporteurs has cited what it says is evidence of “increasing genocidal incitement” against Palestinians.

BREAKING: The UN security council passed a resolution calling for pauses in the fighting in Gaza. The U.S. didn't veto it. It is the 1st time the UN security council adopts a resolution on the war
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) November 15, 2023

Meanwhile, heavy fighting continues to be observed near and around Gaza City’s al-Shifa hospital, the Strip’s largest. It now appears to be under the control of the Israeli military, which has filmed groups of its troops taking medical supplies into the facility.