The Israeli army ordered people in south and central Gaza areas it had previously designated humanitarian safe zones to leave on Friday, saying Hamas had used the areas to fire mortars and rockets at Israel.
Residents in Deir al-Balah, an area still not entered by Israeli forces since the war began more than 10 months ago, said shelling had intensified and tanks had crossed a perimeter fence into the city.
Israel said warning flyers and text messages had been sent out in the eastern part of Deir al-Balah and another area north of the city of Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of people have sought shelter from fighting in other parts of Gaza.
“The advance warning to civilians is being issued in order to mitigate harm to the civilian population and to enable civilians to move away from the combat zone,” the military said in a statement.
Social media and Palestinian news footage, which Reuters could not immediately verify, showed hundreds of families streaming out of Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis on donkey carts, rickshaws and other vehicles laden with salvaged belongings.
Commenting on the new evacuation order, UNRWA, the main UN agency in Gaza, said people “remain trapped in an endless nightmare of death and destruction on a staggering scale.”
Most of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has been displaced multiple times since the start of the Israeli military campaign in the territory in October.
‘A dangerous moment’
The latest evacuation warnings came as negotiators in Doha ended two days of talks aimed at reaching a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and bring Israeli and foreign hostages home. Talks will resume next week in Cairo, according to a joint statement from mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States.
In a statement issued late on Thursday on Telegram, Hamas politburo member Hossam Badran said Israel’s continuing operations were an obstacle to progress on a ceasefire. Hamas officials did not join the talks.
WATCH l Humanitarian issues vital talks over ‘deteriorating’ Gaza: former U.S. envoy
David Satterfield, former U.S special envoy for Middle East humanitarian issues, says current negotiations are more complicated than any conflict he’s seen in his 45 years on the file.
The negotiations, an effort to end bloodshed in Gaza and bring 115 Israeli and foreign hostages home, were put together as Iran appeared poised to retaliate against Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31.
Gaps in a potential agreement include the presence of Israeli troops in Gaza, the sequencing of a hostage release and restrictions on the free movement of civilians from southern to northern Gaza.
The joint statement said mediators had addressed the gaps, without elaborating.
“The path is now set for … saving lives, bringing relief to the people of Gaza, and de-escalating regional tensions,” they said in the statement.
With U.S. warships, submarines and warplanes dispatched to the region to defend Israel and deter potential attackers, Washington hopes a ceasefire agreement in Gaza can defuse the risk of a wider regional war.
Separately, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné were in the region and expected hold a joint meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
“This is a dangerous moment for the Middle East,” Lammy said. “The risk of the situation spiralling out of control is rising. Any Iranian attack would have devastating consequences for the region.”
Earlier, Israel’s military said it had hit an area in Khan Younis from where rockets were fired toward the Israeli community of Kissufim on Thursday, finding weapons including shoulder-fired missiles and explosives.
Gaza’s health ministry said Israeli military strikes across the enclave killed at least 17 Palestinians on Friday.
The assault on Gaza has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health authorities.
The war started after a Hamas-led a raid on southern Israel on Oct. 7 in which Israel says the militants killed some 1,200 people, including several Canadian citizens, prompting Israel to attack Gaza in retaliation.
Fiery attacks in West Bank
Meanwhile, the White House said late on Thursday attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank were “unacceptable and must stop,” after dozens of settlers assaulted a village, killing at least one person.
The Palestinian health ministry said one Palestinian was killed and another critically wounded by Israeli settlers’ gunfire during the incident in the village of Jit, the latest in a series of attacks by settlers in the West Bank.
Footage shared on social media showed cars and houses on fire following the attacks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issued a statement saying that “those responsible for any offence will be apprehended and tried.”
Palestinians regularly accuse Israeli security forces of standing by and allowing groups of violent settlers to attack their houses and villages and the incidents have attracted increasing concern internationally.
The U.S., Canada and a number of European countries have imposed sanctions on violent settlers and called repeatedly on Israel to do more to curb the attacks.
