The Israeli army released a map on Friday dividing the Gaza Strip into so-called “evacuation zones” from which residents will be ordered to leave in the event of Israeli fighting and bombing, after the US requested the establishment of “safe” zones.
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The ceasefire declared on November 24 between Israel and Hamas, an Islamist movement that seized power in Gaza in 2007, expired on Friday morning and the small, overpopulated Palestinian territory is once again the target of Israeli attacks.
“In view of the next phase of the war,” the Israeli army says it has “published a map of evacuation zones” that “divides the territory of the Gaza Strip into easily identifiable areas.”
In this map, published on a special page in Arabic on its website, on social networks and in leaflets distributed locally, the army calls on residents to identify the “area that concerns them” and to act if they go to the ” “Evacuation” may be requested in case “your safety requires it”.
She accuses Hamas of “turning civilian locations into military targets by using civilians (…) as human shields.”
In several places in the Gaza Strip, where cell phone service is often slow, residents received urgent warning text messages Friday morning.
The Israeli army “will begin a devastating military attack in the area where you live with the aim of eliminating the terrorist organization Hamas,” it said, urging recipients to go to shelters and stay “at home.” ‘away from any military activity’.
About ten minutes later the explosions sounded.
According to the Hamas government, more than 15,000 people were killed in Israeli retaliation for the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7 before the Gaza ceasefire.
According to Israel, about 1,200 people were killed in the attack and about 240 were taken hostage and kidnapped to Gaza.
The civilian damage and images of widespread destruction caused by the first phase of Israel’s offensive between October 7 and November 24 have raised international concerns.
On Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Israel to “take more effective measures to protect the lives of civilians, including by clearly and precisely identifying areas and locations in southern and central Gaza where they will be safe and out of the danger zone.” from fire.
The army did not respond to AFP about the amount of time given to residents before military operations began.
During the first phase of the conflict, Israel ordered residents of northern Gaza to evacuate south, but more than a third of deaths were recorded south of the border, according to the United Nations.
