Israel continues its offensive in Gaza, gradually taking over more territory. Now, the Israeli Army has ordered the total evacuation of the city of Jan Yunis, as well as the areas of Beni Suhaila and Abasan in southern Gaza Strip, anticipating "an unprecedented attack" against them, according to a military statement.
"The Israel Defense Forces will launch an unprecedented attack to destroy the capabilities of terrorist organizations in this area. They must evacuate immediately to the west, to the Mawasi area," appealed the Arabic spokesperson for the armed forces, Avichay Adraee, in a statement.
The military also announced that they will consider governing Jan Yunis entirely, one of the most densely populated areas in Gaza at the moment, a dangerous combat zone.
In the statement, Adraee directly addressed the Gazan population: "The terrorist organizations have brought this disaster upon you," he justified, referring to the Palestinian militias in Gaza.
So far, the "prohibited" areas (subject to evacuation orders or where Israel must authorize any movement) accounted for 71% of Gaza, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
With this new mass evacuation order, the percentage will significantly increase, although an agency spokesperson stated that they have not yet calculated the new percentage.
Jonathan Fowler, UNRWA spokesperson, stated that around 90% of the Gaza population is currently displaced, with the agency estimating that since Israel broke the ceasefire on March 18, around 436,000 people have been displaced again.
The Army directed the residents of Jan Yunis towards Mawasi, a coastal area deemed "safe" (despite being attacked by Israel on numerous occasions) until March 18.
In this situation, Mawasi turned into a cluster of tents where hundreds of thousands of people were crammed, remaining there even after authorities no longer considered it "safe."
Israel bombed Mawasi late on Saturday, killing 34 people. The Israeli Army stated that they were investigating whether "uninvolved civilians" were injured in the attack.