GAZA, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Israeli military issued evacuation orders to new areas covering approximately 25 percent of the Gaza Strip following the collapse of truce talks, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Sunday.
The Israel military has divided the territory into numerous small zones in an attempt to ease evacuation orders before potential bombardment, the OCHA said.
Among the designated evacuation zones are towns in southern Gaza, including Al-Qarara, Khuza'a, Abasan, and Bani Suhaila, said the OCHA, noting that residents in these areas have been instructed to move southwards toward Rafah near the Egyptian border.
According to the OCHA, these areas subject to the evacuation orders account for 19 percent of Gaza's territory (69 square kilometers), and were home to approximately 352,000 people before the onset of the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
Furthermore, the Israeli military has ordered evacuations in the eastern part of Gaza City, including Shejaiya, Zeitoun, and the Old City, as well as Jabalia in northern Gaza, which account for approximately 6 percent of the Strip, and were previously inhabited by around 415,000 people, with many already evacuated, according to the OCHA.
Israeli army Spokesperson Avichay Adraee reiterated on Sunday the evacuation orders on his social media platform X, urging residents in Khan Yunis in the southern enclave to leave their residences and head to alternative locations.
The OCHA estimates that about 1.8 million people in Gaza, nearly 80 percent of the population, have become internally displaced, among whom about 1.1 million are accommodated in 156 facilities across Gaza by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
The UN group also highlighted concerns about the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, pregnant, breastfeeding mothers, injuries and those with compromised immune systems. ■
