CAIRO/GAZA: Israel issued a new evacuation order late Sunday for Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, forcing more families to flee and saying the army would take action against Hamas and others operating in the area. Israel has issued several evacuation orders across Gaza in recent days, the most since the 10-month war began, and has raised concerns among Palestinians, the United Nations and aid workers about the shrinking of humanitarian zones and the lack of safe zones.
Deir al-Balah municipality said 250,000 people have so far been displaced under Israeli evacuation orders.
Medics said at least seven Palestinians were killed on Monday in Israeli military strikes: two in Deir al-Balah, where about a million people have fled, two at a school in the al-Nuseirat camp and three in the southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border.
The new order forced many families and patients to evacuate Al-Aqsa Hospital, the main medical facility in Deir al-Balah, where hundreds of thousands of residents and migrants had fled for fear of bombing.
The hospital is close to an area where an evacuation notice has been issued.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said in a statement on Sunday night that the explosion occurred about 250 metres (820 feet) from the MSF-supported Al-Aqsa hospital, sparking panic.
“As a result, MSF is considering whether to pause wound care while continuing life-saving treatment.”
According to a report from the Ministry of Health, only about 100 of the approximately 650 patients remain in hospital, seven of whom are in intensive care units.
“This situation is unacceptable. Al-Aqsa has been operating at far greater than its capacity for weeks, with no alternatives for patients. All warring parties must respect the hospital and patients’ access to medical services,” he added.
Diplomatic deadlock
Sawasun Abu Afesh said she and her children have fled their home 11 times so far.
“I left half of my children near my house and now I am with my little ones and my daughter. Only God can help us… I don’t have money for transportation. I will go to District 17 where my family is staying on foot. I took my children and left three behind. I don’t know where to go,” the woman said.
The conflict is escalating with little hope of an end to the war, with diplomatic efforts by mediators, Qatar, Egypt and the United States failing to bridge the gap between Israel and Hamas, and Hamas leaders are trading blame rather than responsibility for the failure to reach an agreement.
Two Egyptian security sources said Sunday that neither Hamas nor Israel agreed to several compromises put forward by mediators at talks in Cairo.
But a senior U.S. official described the talks as “constructive” and said both sides were working in the spirit of reaching a “final and workable agreement.”
Hamas senior official Osama Hamdan said Hamas did not attend the talks but rejected the new terms put forward by Israel, adding that US statements about an imminent ceasefire were false and aimed at achieving electoral goals.
U.S. President Joe Biden and his administration face growing protests in the United States over support for Israel ahead of the November election.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 40,000 Palestinians have died in the fighting. The crowded area has been devastated, most of its 2.3 million residents have been displaced multiple times, and there are dire shortages of food and medicine, according to humanitarian agencies.
The war was sparked by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, which killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.
