Israeli Army: About 700 thousand Palestinians fled south of Gaza City

In an answer to AFP, the military said “70 000 Palestinians have been evacuated” from the town of Gaza to the south of the Gaza Strip.

UN humanitarian agency, O CHA, noted that since mid-August, 388,400 internal population movements have been registered, mostly from the city of Gaza. According to the UN, at the end of August about one million people lived in the city of Gaza and its suburbs, where the situation is declared “extreme”.

Israel launched a broad air and ground offensive at the main urban centre of Palestinian territory, naming it an attempt to eradicate Hamas after nearly two years of devastating war.

“over the past week, attacks in the city of Gaza have been particularly intense, affecting the tents of internally displaced persons (IDP), residential buildings and public infrastructure, many of which have resulted in a high number of victims”, O said CHA.

The Gaza Civil Protection Agency reported that Israeli attacks killed 22 people Thursday, including five in Gaza City. An air strike in a house where displaced persons in central Gaza had taken refuge killed 11 people.

Because of media restrictions and difficulties in access to many areas, AFP has failed to independently verify data provided by civil protection or Israeli military.

“The whole country was destroyed and nothing remained suitable for use by people”, said Youssef Youths, Gaza resident. While another resident of Al-Zawaida, Ahmed Abu Dahrouj, added: Our “message is that the war must be ended immediately because we are experiencing an extermination”.

Over nearly two years, Israeli offensives have caused the deaths of at least 65,502 Palestinians, mainly civilians, according to the health ministry in Gaza, which the UN considers reliable.

The conflict began after Hamas' attack on October 7th 2023 against Israel, which caused the death of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP estimate based on Israeli data.