DEIR AL-BALAH.- The Israeli military on Monday ordered the evacuation of part of an area in the Gaza Strip that it has designated as a humanitarian zone.
The army said it planned to launch an operation against Hamas militants who have infiltrated the area and fired rockets into Israel from there. The area includes the eastern part of the Muwasi humanitarian zone in the southern Gaza Strip.
Many Palestinians have been uprooted several times in search of safety during the harsh Israeli air and ground campaign.
Israel said this month it estimated at least 1.8 million Palestinians were in the humanitarian zone it designated, a stretch about 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) long along the Mediterranean. Much of that area is now covered in tent camps with no sanitation or medical facilities and limited access to aid, according to the United Nations and aid groups. Families live amid piles of garbage and streams polluted by sewage.
The announcement came during delicate negotiations for a cease-fire in Gaza, with U.S. and Israeli officials expressing hope that it is closer than ever. Israel will send a negotiating team to continue the talks on Thursday, according to Netanyahu’s office. Egypt, Qatar and the United States will continue to press Israel and Hamas to agree to a gradual cease-fire that would stop the fighting and free the hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left on Monday morning for a long-awaited trip to the United States, where he will meet with President Joe Biden, who announced on Saturday that he will not seek re-election. Netanyahu will also address Congress.
Netanyahu said that no matter who the next US president is, “our enemies must know that America and Israel will be together tomorrow and always.” He added that he would thank Biden for more than 40 years of friendship, while pressing him for more support on some issues.
