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New Mass Exodus Hits Central Gaza as Hamas Says Israel Stalls on Ceasefire

Palestinians travel in vehicles as they flee Bureij after they were ordered by Israeli army to evacuate the area, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in the central Gaza Strip July 28, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians travel in vehicles as they flee Bureij after they were ordered by Israeli army to evacuate the area, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in the central Gaza Strip July 28, 2024. (Reuters)
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New Mass Exodus Hits Central Gaza as Hamas Says Israel Stalls on Ceasefire

Palestinians travel in vehicles as they flee Bureij after they were ordered by Israeli army to evacuate the area, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in the central Gaza Strip July 28, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinians travel in vehicles as they flee Bureij after they were ordered by Israeli army to evacuate the area, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in the central Gaza Strip July 28, 2024. (Reuters)

Thousands of Palestinians fled a community in the central Gaza Strip on Monday in the face of new Israeli evacuation orders, worsening the humanitarian plight in an area already inundated with displaced people fleeing an assault in the south.

The Hamas movement accused Israel of blocking a ceasefire, saying Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government had inserted new conditions into a longstanding truce proposal at the latest talks, conducted through international mediators.

Israeli forces, which have now captured nearly the entire Gaza Strip in nearly 10 months of war, have spent the last several weeks launching major operations in areas where they had previously claimed to have uprooted Hamas fighters.

Hundreds of thousands of people have converged on Deir al-Balah, a small city in the center of the enclave that is the only major area yet to be stormed, many forced there by fighting in the ruins of Khan Younis further south since last week.

In its latest assault, Israel ordered residents on Sunday to flee Al-Bureij, just northeast of Deir.

"What is left? Deir? Deir is full of people. Everyone is in Deir. All of Gaza. Where should people go?" Aya Mansour told Reuters in Deir after fleeing from Bureij.

The Israeli military said fighter jets hit 35 targets across the Gaza Strip over the past day as troops battled fighters in Khan Younis and Rafah, close to the border with Egypt. The armed wings of Hamas and the Islamic Jihad said fierce gun battles have been ongoing in those two areas as well as in the suburb of Tel Al-Hawa in Gaza City further north.

Palestinian medical officials said at least eight people were killed in an Israeli air strike earlier in Khan Younis.

In the latest sign of a worsening public health emergency, the Gaza Health Ministry declared a polio epidemic, following the detection of the virus in sewage samples. On Sunday, the military issued new evacuation orders to some districts in Bureij, forcing thousands to leave before the army blew up several houses.

Some families used donkey carts and rickshaws to carry whatever belongings remained. Many walked for several km on foot to reach Deir or al-Zawayda town to the west.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency for Palestinians, said only 14% of the Gaza Strip had not been placed under evacuation orders by the Israeli military. People have been forced to evacuate repeatedly, often with only a few hours notice.

CEASEFIRE TALKS

Although Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has faced weekly demonstrations from Israelis demanding a ceasefire to bring back more than 100 hostages still held in Gaza, there has been little visible progress in talks brokered by Qatar and Egypt.

Negotiations are set to continue after Israeli officials returned from the latest round in Rome on Sunday. Washington, which sponsors the talks, has repeatedly said a deal is close; the latest talks are over a proposal President Joe Biden unveiled back in May.

But Hamas said the latest Israeli response included new conditions.

"It is clear from what the mediators conveyed that Netanyahu has returned to his strategy of procrastination, evasion, and avoiding reaching an agreement by setting new conditions and demands," Hamas said in a statement on Monday.

Aya Mohammad, 30, a Gaza City resident sheltering in Deir, said Gazans were losing hope in a truce: "It is all lies. I think I will die here. No one knows who is going to die first here."

The Gaza Health Ministry said the detection of polio, long since eradicated in the enclave, "poses a health threat to the people of Gaza, to neighboring countries, and a setback to global efforts to end polio."

According to the World Health Organization, polio is endemic only in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but 35 countries are still listed as subject to outbreaks, including Gaza's neighbor Egypt, and any country risks the return of the disease if an outbreak goes unchecked. Israel said last week it was offering polio vaccines to troops deployed in Gaza.

The limited access to water has worsened health complications from poor sanitation. Many displaced people were suffering from skin diseases, and children are afflicted by fevers, continuous weeping, and declining to eat or be breastfed, said Hussam Abu Safiyah, the director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza.

The war began with an assault on southern Israel by Hamas-led fighters who killed 1,200 people and captured around 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then Israeli forces have killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, according to health authorities there who do not distinguish between combatants and civilians but say more than half of the dead are women or children. Israel, which has lost around 330 soldiers in Gaza, says a third of those it has killed are fighters.

Hamas has demanded a path to an end to the war in Gaza as a condition for its agreement to a ceasefire. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said repeatedly the conflict will stop only once Hamas is defeated.

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Arab World

Iraqi Confusion Over Allegations of US Warning of Sanctions

The Coordination Framework faces a dilemma after nominating Nouri al-Maliki for Prime Minister (INA)
The Coordination Framework faces a dilemma after nominating Nouri al-Maliki for Prime Minister (INA)
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Iraqi Confusion Over Allegations of US Warning of Sanctions

The Coordination Framework faces a dilemma after nominating Nouri al-Maliki for Prime Minister (INA)
The Coordination Framework faces a dilemma after nominating Nouri al-Maliki for Prime Minister (INA)

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said that the authorities have received an oral message from Washington, “clearing and explicitly” hinting at possible sanctions if former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki was named to head the new government.

The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday that Hussein, who also serves as Deputy Prime Minister, had discussed in a televised interview the nature of cooperation and joint work with the US, particularly with regard to the formation of the upcoming government, without addressing the threat of sanctions, which led to “confusion in media coverage.”

The ministry stated that the US message included two main points. The first referred to the possibility of imposing sanctions on “certain individuals and institutions” if the largest bloc in parliament held onto its current nominee for the PM’s post, while the second addressed the standards for joint cooperation, mainly the nature of the upcoming government.

The ministry’s clarifications come amid increasing US warnings against selecting al-Maliki to head the government. The US State Department affirmed that Washington’s position is “firm and resolute,” and that his selection would force Washington to reassess its relationship with Iraq.

The Coordination Framework, which includes ruling Shiite parties, is divided over al-Maliki’s nomination, and attempts are being made to persuade him to withdraw his candidacy to preserve the unity of the alliance.

The Sunni Sovereignty Alliance, led by Khamis al-Khanjar, expects al-Maliki to take the initiative to withdraw his nomination to spare the country economic sanctions.

Fahd al-Rashed, a senior figure in the Sunni alliance, told Shafaq News that al-Maliki is expected to step aside given “his concern for the country’s interests.”

“We have no objection to al-Maliki personally,” al-Rashed added, “but we fear the repercussions of US reservations over the candidate, including threats of economic sanctions.”

Arab World

Israeli Settlers Kill 19-year-old Palestinian-American

Mourners carry the body of Palestinian-American Nasrallah Muhammad Jamal Abu Siyam, 19, who according to the Palestinian Health Ministry was shot by settlers on Wednesday night, during his funeral in the West Bank village of Mukhmas, east of Ramallah, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Mourners carry the body of Palestinian-American Nasrallah Muhammad Jamal Abu Siyam, 19, who according to the Palestinian Health Ministry was shot by settlers on Wednesday night, during his funeral in the West Bank village of Mukhmas, east of Ramallah, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
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Israeli Settlers Kill 19-year-old Palestinian-American

Mourners carry the body of Palestinian-American Nasrallah Muhammad Jamal Abu Siyam, 19, who according to the Palestinian Health Ministry was shot by settlers on Wednesday night, during his funeral in the West Bank village of Mukhmas, east of Ramallah, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)
Mourners carry the body of Palestinian-American Nasrallah Muhammad Jamal Abu Siyam, 19, who according to the Palestinian Health Ministry was shot by settlers on Wednesday night, during his funeral in the West Bank village of Mukhmas, east of Ramallah, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank shot and killed a Palestinian-American during an attack on a village, the Palestinian Health Ministry and a witness said Thursday.

Raed Abu Ali, a resident of Mukhmas, said a group of settlers came to the village Wednesday afternoon where they attacked a farmer, prompting clashes after residents intervened. Israeli forces later arrived, and during the violence armed settlers killed 19-year-old Nasrallah Abu Siyam and injured several others.

Abu Ali said that the army shot tear gas, sound grenades and live ammunition. Israel's military acknowledged using what it called “riot dispersal methods” after receiving reports of Palestinians throwing rocks but denied that its forces fired during the clashes, The Associated Press said.

“When the settlers saw the army, they were encouraged and started shooting live bullets,” Abu Ali said. He added that they clubbed those injured with sticks after they had fallen to the ground.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health confirmed Abu Siyam's death from critical wounds sustained Wednesday afternoon near the village east of Ramallah.

Abu Siyam’s killing is the latest in a surge in violence in the occupied West Bank. Israeli forces and settlers killed 240 Palestinians last year, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Palestinians killed 17 Israelis over the same period, six of whom were soldiers. The Palestinian Authority’s Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission said Abu Siyam was the first Palestinian killed by settlers in 2026.

Mukhmas and its surrounding area — most of which lies under Israeli civil and military administration — have become a hot spot for settler attacks, including arson and assaults, as well as the construction of outposts that Israeli law considers illegal.

The Israeli military said late Wednesday that unnamed suspects shot at Palestinians, who were later evacuated for medical treatment. It did not say whether any were arrested.

Abu Siyam's mother told The Associated Press that he was an American citizen, making him the second Palestinian-American to be killed by Israeli settlers in less than a year.

A US embassy spokesperson said they “condemn this violence."

Palestinians and rights groups say authorities routinely fail to prosecute settlers or hold them accountable for violence.

UN says Israel's acts in West Bank may be ethnic cleansing

The UN human rights office on Thursday accused Israel of war crimes and said practices that displace Palestinians and alter the demographic composition of the occupied West Bank “raise concerns over ethnic cleansing.”

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, citing findings collected November 2024 to October 2025, said Israel was engaged in “concerted and accelerating effort to consolidate annexation” while maintaining a system “to maintain oppression and domination of Palestinians.”

Residents of Palestinian villages and herding communities have been increasingly displaced as Israeli settlements and outposts expand. Since the start of the Israel–Hamas war, the Israeli rights group B’Tselem says about 45 Palestinian communities have been emptied out completely amid Israeli demolition orders and settler attacks.

Additionally, the office said Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank “employed means and methods designed for warfare” including lethal airstrikes and forcibly transferring civilians from their homes. It also said Israel “forbade” residents from returning to their homes in northern West Bank refugee camps. The operation, which Israel said was aimed against militants, displaced tens of thousands of Palestinians.

The report also accused Palestinian security forces of using unnecessary lethal force in the same areas, killing at least eight people, and noted that the Palestinian Authority had engaged in “intimidation, detention and ill-treatment of journalists, human rights defenders and other individuals deemed critical of its rule.”

Neither Israel’s Foreign Ministry nor the Palestinian Authority responded to requests for comment. Israel has repeatedly accused the UN rights office of anti-Israel bias.

Last year, the UN human rights monitor warned of what it called “an unfolding genocide in Gaza” with “conditions of life increasingly incompatible with (Palestinians’) continued existence.” Their report on Thursday also warned of demographic shifts in Gaza raising concerns of ethnic cleansing.

Report finds imprisoned Palestinian journalists were tortured

The Committee to Protect Journalists said that dozens of Palestinian journalists who were detained in Israel during the war in Gaza experienced conditions including physical assaults, forced stress positions, sensory deprivation, sexual violence and medical neglect.

CPJ documented the detention of at least 94 Palestinian journalists and one media worker during the war, from the West Bank, Gaza and Israel Thirty are still in custody, CPJ said.

Half of the journalists, the report found, were never charged with a crime and were held under Israel’s administrative detention system, which allows for suspects deemed security risks to be held for six months and can be renewed indefinitely.

Israel’s prison services did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the report, but rejected a similar report in January about conditions for Palestinian prisoners as “false allegations,” contending it operates lawfully, is subject to oversight and reviews complaints.

UN development chief says removing Gaza rubble will take 7 years

The vast destruction across Gaza will take at least seven years just to remove the rubble, according to the United Nations Development Program.

Alexander De Croo, the former Belgian prime minister who just returned from Gaza, said that the UNDP had removed just 0.5% of the rubble and people in Gaza are experiencing “the worst living conditions that I have ever seen.”

De Croo said 90% of Gaza’s 2.2 million people live in “very, very rudimentary tents” in the middle of the rubble, which poses health dangers and a danger from exploding weapons.

He said UNDP has been able to build 500 improved housing units, and has 4,000 more that are ready, but estimates the true need is 200,000 to 300,000 units. The units are meant to be used temporarily while reconstruction takes place. He called on Israel to expand access for goods and items needed for reconstruction and the private sector to begin development.

Arab World

Yemen PM Announces Comprehensive Reform Plan with Saudi Support

Zindani government holds first meeting after ministers return to Aden (Saba News Agency)
Zindani government holds first meeting after ministers return to Aden (Saba News Agency)
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Yemen PM Announces Comprehensive Reform Plan with Saudi Support

Zindani government holds first meeting after ministers return to Aden (Saba News Agency)
Zindani government holds first meeting after ministers return to Aden (Saba News Agency)

Yemen’s new government convened its first cabinet meeting on Thursday in the temporary capital Aden, with Prime Minister Shayea al-Zindani presiding after ministers completed their return to the country to resume duties, in what officials cast as the start of a hands-on push to stabilize security, revive services and shore up a battered economy with broad Saudi backing.

The meeting coincided with remarks by Presidential Leadership Council member Abdulrahman al-Mahrami, who warned against unrest in Aden, in an apparent reference to attempts led by elements of the dissolved Southern Transitional Council. “We will not allow any attempts to destabilize public order or drag our city into chaos or futile conflicts,” he said.

At the cabinet’s first meeting following its return to Aden, Zindani stressed that “there is no room for any government member to remain outside the country,” affirming that the government would be present on the ground, living among the population and addressing their daily needs, in a move aimed at restoring public trust and strengthening direct government performance.

The Yemeni prime minister, who also retains the foreign affairs portfolio, said his government would enter a new phase of field-based work from Aden, emphasizing that the next stage would rely on direct engagement with citizens, enhancing the effectiveness of state institutions and achieving tangible improvements in services and economic and security stability.

He said improvements in some basic services in recent weeks were not temporary, but the result of disciplined measures and practical reforms, alongside significant Saudi support, which he said had once again proven to be a pillar of the Yemeni state and a key partner in achieving peace and ensuring stability. He added that Saudi moves in support of the Yemeni people were consistent with international law.

Zindani said the government was working to ensure the sustainability of service delivery so that citizens feel a real and lasting difference, not a fleeting improvement, noting that the coming phase would include serious steps to combat corruption, enhance transparency and enforce the law as key pillars for building effective state institutions.

Reforms on all fronts

On the economic front, Zindani announced that the government would present a realistic 2026 budget for the first time in years, giving top priority to the regular payment of public-sector salaries as a legal and moral obligation.

Measures would also be taken to curb inflation and contain the erosion of citizens’ purchasing power, thereby easing living burdens.

On the security and military fronts, he said the government was committed to removing all military camps from Aden and other cities and to unifying military and security decision-making under the state’s authority, to strengthen stability and prevent multiple centers of influence.

He stressed the importance of respecting rights and equality for all citizens, and of not allowing calls that promote chaos or threaten public order.

Regarding the southern issue, the prime minister expressed confidence that south-south dialogue would open a genuine window to address it, calling on southerners to abandon the rhetoric of treason and avoid fueling strife and grudges, and to entrench a culture of tolerance and move beyond past conflicts.

He said southerners are the ones concerned with determining their present and future through dialogue, away from the imposition of individual or factional will, stressing there was no room to politicize or diminish the southern issue, which he described as a national cause concerning all Yemenis.

On the peace track, Zindani said the state retained all options to restore its institutions if the Houthis remained intransigent, while affirming that the internationally recognized government continues to extend its hand for peace and to end the Houthi coup, alongside efforts to launch a broad process of reconstruction, development and modernization.

Gradual work

Upon his arrival at Aden International Airport, Zindani said the government’s return to the country represents a practical commitment to shoulder national responsibilities and directly address accumulated challenges facing citizens, particularly amid difficult economic conditions and the repercussions of the ongoing war.

In his first interview after being sworn in as prime minister, Zindani said his government would soon relocate to Aden, noting that being inside the country was not a symbolic step but a prerequisite for effective decision-making and restoring the regular functioning of state institutions.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said the current phase “does not tolerate broad rhetoric,” but requires gradual work to rebuild trust and restore institutional rhythm, stressing that improving living conditions, services, and economic recovery are urgent priorities.

He justified retaining the foreign affairs portfolio as necessary to complete organizational and diplomatic reforms he had previously begun.

Zindani said his cabinet was formed based on professional criteria, away from quota-based arrangements, with a focus on competence, specialization and national balance.

Economically, he adopted what he described as a realistic tone, avoiding quick promises, and said recovery requires restructuring financial administration, controlling resources, enhancing transparency and activating oversight.

He said unifying political and military decision-making would enable state institutions to enforce the law, make accountability possible and give the government a more cohesive negotiating position in any upcoming peace process with the Houthis.

No tolerance for unrest

In support of Zindani’s government, Presidential Leadership Council member Abdulrahman al-Mahrami said security and stability in Aden would remain a non-negotiable priority.

He stressed that no attempts would be allowed to undermine public order or drag Aden into chaos and futile conflicts.

In a statement on his official X account, he reaffirmed that Aden’s security and stability will remain a priority and the government will accept no compromise or negligence.

"We will not allow any attempts to destabilize public order or drag our city into chaos or futile conflicts, without detracting from the political path of the south and its cause," he said.

He added: “We look forward to a South-South dialogue sponsored by Riyadh. It is a historic opportunity that we value and hold on to, and we thank the Kingdom’s leadership for it. We also affirm our full support for the government headed by Dr. Shayea al-Zindani, urging all its members to provide services and improve living conditions in a way that citizens can feel.”

Al-Mahrami pledged to follow up on performance “with care, transparency and responsibility,” calling on “everyone to unite, reject rumors, strengthen the spirit of national responsibility and stand together to protect the capital and safeguard state institutions.”

He added: “We trust that all understand the importance of preserving security and stability as the foundation for government and institutional work and the provision of services, away from political direction or exploitation by any party to harm people’s lives and increase their suffering, without detracting from our just cause.”