DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip: The Israeli military ordered more evacuations in southern Gaza early Sunday after a deadly airstrike on a school-turned-shelter in the north killed at least 80 Palestinians, according to local health authorities. Israel said it targeted a militant command post, killing at least 19 fighters.
Israel has repeatedly ordered mass evacuations as its troops have returned to heavily damaged areas where they previously battled Palestinian militants. The vast majority of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people have been displaced by the 10-month-old war, often multiple times.
Hundreds of thousands of people huddled in squalid tent camps with few public services or sought shelter in schools like the one hit on Saturday. Palestinians say nowhere in the besieged territory feels safe.
The latest evacuation orders apply to areas of Khan Younis, including part of an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone from which the military said rockets were fired. Israel accuses Hamas and other militants of hiding among civilians and launching attacks from residential areas.
Khan Younis, Gaza's second largest city, suffered widespread destruction during an air and ground offensive earlier this year. Tens of thousands fled again last week after an earlier evacuation order.
Hundreds of families carrying their belongings left their homes and shelters on Sunday morning, seeking an elusive refuge.
“We don't know where to go,” said Amal Abu Yahia, a mother of three who had returned to Khan Younis in June to take shelter in their badly damaged home. “This is my fourth move,” said the 42-year-old widow, whose husband was killed when an Israeli airstrike hit their neighbors' home in March.
She said they went to Muwasi, a sprawling tent camp along the coast, but found no space.
Ramadan Issa, a 50-year-old father of five, fled Khan Younis with 17 members of his extended family, joining hundreds of people marching towards central Gaza on Sunday morning.
“Every time we settle in one place and build tents for women and children, the occupation comes and bombs the area,” he said, referring to Israel. “This situation is unbearable.”
Gaza's health ministry says the number of Palestinians killed in the 10-month war is approaching 40,000, without saying how many were fighters. Aid groups have scrambled to tackle the staggering humanitarian crisis in the territory, while international experts have warned of famine.
The war began when Hamas-led militants broke through Israel's defenses on October 7 and rampaged through farming communities and army bases near the border, killing around 1,200 people – mostly civilians – and kidnapping around 250 people.
The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to broker a ceasefire and the return of the roughly 110 remaining hostages, about a third of whom Israeli authorities believe are dead. Meanwhile, the conflict threatened to spark a regional war as Israel exchanged fire with Iran and its militant allies in the region.
Saturday's strike hit a mosque inside a school in Gaza City, where thousands of people were sheltering. Gaza's Health Ministry said 80 people were killed and about 50 wounded. The Israeli military disputed the toll, saying it killed 19 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants in a precision strike.
Gaza City and the rest of the north have been surrounded by Israeli forces and largely cut off from the world since late last year, and it has not been possible to independently confirm the details of the attack.
The UN human rights office says Israel has carried out “systematic attacks on schools” that have served as shelters since the start of the war, with at least 21 strikes since July 4, killing hundreds, including women and children.
European leaders condemned the attack, while the US said it was concerned by reports of civilian casualties. Vice President Kamala Harris, speaking to reporters traveling with her in Phoenix, Arizona on Saturday, said: “Again, far too many civilians have been killed.”
“We need a hostage agreement and we need a ceasefire,” she said. “The deal needs to be done and it needs to be done now.”
