Stay or Go? Israel's Evacuation Orders Leave Gazans Facing an Excruciating Choice.
The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders for neighborhoods in Gaza City on Friday as it pressed forward with its offensive in the war-ravaged Gaza Strip, once again delivering a painful choice to Palestinians about whether to stay or go.
The orders targeted eastern Gaza City, including several parts that the military had declared evacuation zones last week. The move suggested that some people had remained in their homes even after the Israeli military had urged them to leave.
Since the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in March, Israel has issued a succession of evacuation orders across Gaza as it takes territory to create what it calls a 'security zone' and targets Hamas. The orders have left many Palestinians debating whether to stay in their neighborhoods despite the danger or leave despite the miserable conditions of displacement.
While the United Nations has said that 390,000 people have been displaced in recent weeks, the exact number of people remaining in evacuation zones was unclear.
'We don't want to leave,' said Ahmad al-Masri, 26, a resident of Beit Lahia in northern Gaza who has spurned evacuation orders for his town. 'Where will we go? It's so very tiring.'
In some parts of Gaza, the military has issued evacuation orders and later invaded by ground. In other areas, it has put out evacuation orders, but has not sent in infantry. At least some Palestinians who have disregarded evacuation orders said they would leave if Israeli tanks move into their neighborhoods.
'I'm dealing with the reality on the ground,' Mr. al-Masri said.
Since the cease-fire broke down, the Israeli military has embarked on a major bombing campaign and seized territory in a tactic that Israeli officials have said was intended to compel Hamas to release more hostages.
The military said its recent campaign had dismantled weapons infrastructure and killed militants. On Thursday, the Israeli military said that it had killed a Hamas commander in Gaza City's Shajaiye neighborhood a day earlier, who had participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack in Israel. The Palestinian Civil Defense, an emergency rescue service under the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, said that 23 people had been killed in strikes in Shajaiye on Wednesday, without distinguishing between civilians and combatants.
'The Israel Defense Forces is acting with great force in your areas to destroy the terrorist infrastructure,' Avichay Adraee, the Arabic-language spokesman for the military, said on Friday, announcing the evacuation orders for eastern Gaza City.
The Israeli offensive has included evacuation orders encompassing roughly half of the territory, according to a New York Times analysis of Israeli military maps. Satellite imagery also shows that the Israeli military was taking over Rafah, with forces closing in on the southernmost city in Gaza from two directions.
More than 1,500 people in Gaza have been killed since the cease-fire fell apart and more than 50,000 people have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Gaza health ministry. The ministry also does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its casualty counts. Doctors at hospitals have said many of those wounded and killed in recent weeks have been children.
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