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Israel seeks forced displacement of more Gaza residents during temporary truce

A file photo by AP shows Palestinians fleeing to the southern Gaza Strip during Israeli bombardment of the besieged enclave.

The Israeli army has reiterated its demand that residents in the besieged Gaza Strip should only move to the south as  Israel has temporarily paused weeks of its devastating bombing of the besieged Palestinian enclave.

The statement by Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee came amid a four-day humanitarian pause that took effect Friday, temporarily halting the Israeli attacks on the besieged enclave.

Residents of Gaza must “move to the south of the Gaza Valley,” in the mid-Gaza Strip, he said, warning them “not to try to move to the north of the Strip, as it is a war zone.”

The spokesman for the occupying regime forces also said that “it is forbidden to enter the sea” as well as “to approach the border between Gaza and Israel (the occupied territories) within a distance of one kilometer.”

“Israel will not allow any movement from the south Gaza Strip towards the north,” he said

Israel first called for residents in the northern Gaza Strip to move to the south soon after the aggression began on Oct. 7, despite warnings that such a mass migration would lead to a humanitarian disaster. Many did, hoping the south would be safer, but there have been many attacks in the southern Gaza Strip too.

Amid its military offensive on Gaza City and the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli military had repeatedly dropped leaflets telling residents they must leave their homes and "evacuate" to areas it claims are safer, which are south of the Wadi Gaza wetlands.

Families risked journeys through the blasted landscape of destroyed buildings and corpses, along the road that Israel had designated as a "humanitarian corridor" through the aggression.

But what awaits Palestinians who move south is still life-threatening. The "evacuation" areas are both heavily bombarded and in a dire humanitarian crisis.

Israeli bombardment has killed thousands of civilians in the areas of the Gaza Strip that Israel has ordered them to move to.

Last week, the main United Nations agency in Gaza announced that almost 1.7 million people, nearly 80 percent of the population, had been displaced since October 7 when Israel launched its aggression against the besieged territory.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that nearly 945,000 internally displaced people were sheltering in its premises across Gaza as of November 19.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently vowed to resume the Israeli offensive against Gaza as soon as the truce ends.

The Israeli prime minister said that during the lull, intelligence efforts will be maintained, allowing the army to prepare for the next stages of battle. He said the battle would continue until “Gaza will not threaten Israel.”

Israel launched a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip on Oct. 7. It has since killed at least 14,854 Palestinians, including 6,150 children and over 4,000 women.


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