There are no ‘humanitarian zones’ or ‘evacuation orders’ in Gaza
Displaced Palestinians leave an area in Khan Younis in southern Gaza after the Israeli army forced them out on 8 August 2024
Othman Moqbel writes in Al Jazeera on 2 December 2024:
As you read this, many families in Gaza are weighing whether they should flee their current shelter and risk having to endure the harsh winter out on the streets or risk being bombed and killed where they are. There is no guarantee that they will be safe from Israel’s bombs and bullets if they choose either option.
These are dilemmas no human should ever have to endure, yet recent research by Action For Humanity found that 98 percent of the 200,000 people in the “humanitarian zones” in central Gaza have had to wrestle with them. In fact, according to our findings, more than a quarter of these people have had to move 10 or more times in the past 13 months.
Yes, you read that right – the people in these “humanitarian zones” received “evacuation orders” and had to flee to save their lives, often with just the clothes on their backs 10 or more times in just over a year.
The research, based on the testimonies of displaced Palestinians on the ground, revealed that Israel’s “evacuation orders” often give people just an hour, and sometimes even less, to pack up what remains of their lives and run for their lives. And when they agree to “evacuate”, they are often still chased by a hail of bullets as they try to find new shelter in another “humanitarian zone”