In Pictures
Photos: Palestinians flee Nuseirat refugee camp once again amid attacks
Residents say the Israeli army issued new evacuation orders as it continues to intensify attacks on the area.
Central Gaza Strip — Relentless Israeli bombardment in the Nuseirat refugee camp has forced hundreds of Palestinians to once again flee from the central Gaza Strip.
Israeli attacks pounded the area on Tuesday, forcing residents to flee.
Some left on foot and on donkey-pulled carts amid a lack of much-needed fuel. The streets were muddy and flooded after a night of heavy rain.
Others stacked mattresses, blankets and other essentials on the top of small vehicles as they headed towards Deir el-Balah and Rafah.
They said the Israeli army issued new evacuation orders as it continues to intensify attacks on the area.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, at least 207 people were killed over a 24-hour period.
The evacuation comes days after the Israeli army ordered residents to flee parts of the Nuseirat camp, as well as the Bureij refugee camp.
Those who fled used a smaller road inside the camp, instead of the main Salah al-Din Street that stretches across the length of Gaza.
Israeli soldiers, tanks, and snipers remain stationed there. In previous evacuations, Palestinians fleeing parts of northern Gaza have been arrested, shot at and even killed – despite it being declared as a safe route by the Israeli army.
Many among the displaced people, already grappling with the consequences of previous evacuations during the nearly 90 days of conflict, believe that these latest orders further intensify the humanitarian crisis.
Many are crammed inside the Rafah governorate in southern Gaza. The health ministry has warned that disease there is spreading amid a lack of supplies, medicine, clean water and fuel.
UN-run schools, which have become shelters, are also overcrowded.
The United Nations says nearly 1.9 million people have now been displaced – more than 80 percent of the Gaza Strip’s pre-war population.
Southern areas including Deir el-Balah and Rafah face continuing bombardment from Israeli artillery and warplanes, rendering no place safe for evacuees.
