Israel Issues Evacuation Orders in Southern Gaza

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Facts

  • The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday ordered residents of at least five more areas in and around Khan Younis to leave their homes and move south to Rafah, arguing that the Gaza Strip’s second-largest city had become a “dangerous” combat zone.1
  • Furthermore, it admitted to having carried out airstrikes on over 400 targets across the Gaza Strip and striking more than 50 locations in Khan Younis’ vicinity, where thousands of displaced Gazans have been sheltering after Tel Aviv invaded the northern part of the enclave in late October.2
  • The Palestinian Health Ministry later claimed that the relentless Israeli bombardments — resumed after a seven-day truce with Hamas ended on Friday — have killed more than 700 Palestinians and destroyed several residential buildings in the past 24 hours.3
  • This comes after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the war would continue “until we achieve all its goals,” while Hamas’ deputy chief stated that no more hostage-prisoner exchange would take place until there was a ceasefire in Gaza.4
  • Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin offered a stark public warning to Israel, saying that Netanyahu could replace a tactical victory over Hamas with “strategic defeat” in Gaza if Tel Aviv doesn’t prevent civilian casualties and drives Gazans “into the arms of the enemy.”5
  • In other news, the IDF said its troops had discovered more than 800 tunnel shafts in the Gaza Strip since the ground offensive against Hamas began on Oct. 27, adding many of the tunnels — allegedly located in civilian areas — connect the militant group’s “strategic assets.”6

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2The New York Times, 3Palestine Chronicle, 4Associated Press, 5VOA and 6Archive.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by RT. The huge loss of civilian lives under the pretext of eliminating Hamas can't continue. Israel's indiscriminate bombardment of the Gaza Strip and vicious attempt to control the narrative about its decades-old occupation of the Palestinian territories must immediately end before the horrendous humanitarian crisis inside Gaza inevitably worsens.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Archive. Following the terror attacks in Israel, the country is continuing its legitimate military operations in Gaza as part of its war against Hamas. Despite presenting evidence that Hamas uses civilians as human shields, Israel is doing everything it can to minimize harm to the Gazans and provide aid while conducting critical military operations to defend its borders.

Predictions