Thousands flee as Israel orders evacuations in Gaza’s Deir el-Balah

Many families were heading to the western side of Deir el-Balah, close to the beach. [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]Palestinian women and children sit in the back of a vehicle as they flee Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip. [Eyad Baba/AFP]Gaza’s Government Media Office said more than 1.7 million Palestinians have been displaced to Israel’s so-called “humanitarian safe zones”, which have been repeatedly attacked by the military. [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]Palestinians are looking for any vacant land where they can set up their makeshift tents. They lack basic humanitarian requirements, including food and water. [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]The United Nations says at least 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced at least once since the start of the war in October. [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]Following recent evacuation orders for Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) project coordinator Jacob Granger said Israel’s “continuous forced displacement of people is inhumane”. [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]Palestinians are on the move again following the Israeli army’s warning for the evacuation of the areas of Abu Areef and al-Mazra in Deir el-Balah. [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]In Deir el-Balah, which houses about one million displaced Palestinians, according to the municipal council, residents said tanks advanced further from the east and blocked some roads connecting the city with nearby Khan Younis in the south. [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]Rights groups expressed renewed concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza after Israel’s latest evacuation order. [Ashraf Amra/Anadolu]