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Israel Issues New Evacuation Orders for an Area in North Gaza

A Palestinian woman stands on top of debris in Deir el-balah in the central Gaza Strip, on August 7, 2024. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
A Palestinian woman stands on top of debris in Deir el-balah in the central Gaza Strip, on August 7, 2024. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
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Israel Issues New Evacuation Orders for an Area in North Gaza

A Palestinian woman stands on top of debris in Deir el-balah in the central Gaza Strip, on August 7, 2024. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
A Palestinian woman stands on top of debris in Deir el-balah in the central Gaza Strip, on August 7, 2024. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)

The Israeli military issued new evacuation orders Wednesday for an area in northern Gaza that was heavily bombed at the start of the war some 10 months ago.
The military said it would respond to a Hamas rocket attack from the Beit Hanoun area the day before and urged residents to relocate to Gaza City, large areas of which have been destroyed.
Beit Hanoun, which is close to the border, was one of the first targets of the massive bombardment and ground invasion launched after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, which triggered the war.
Israeli forces have repeatedly returned to areas where past air and ground operations caused widespread destruction, as militants have regrouped. The vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced within the narrow coastal strip since the start of the war — often multiple times. Hundreds of thousands are sheltering in crowded tent camps.

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Members of UN Security Council Call for Surge in Assistance to Gaza

Palestinian man Moein Abu Odeh searches for clothes through the rubble of a house destroyed in the Israeli military offensive, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, November 18, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinian man Moein Abu Odeh searches for clothes through the rubble of a house destroyed in the Israeli military offensive, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, November 18, 2024. (Reuters)
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Members of UN Security Council Call for Surge in Assistance to Gaza

Palestinian man Moein Abu Odeh searches for clothes through the rubble of a house destroyed in the Israeli military offensive, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, November 18, 2024. (Reuters)
Palestinian man Moein Abu Odeh searches for clothes through the rubble of a house destroyed in the Israeli military offensive, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, November 18, 2024. (Reuters)

Members of the United Nations Security Council called on Monday for a surge in assistance to reach people in need in Gaza, warning that the situation in the Palestinian enclave was getting worse.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said there needs to be a "huge, huge rise in aid" to Gaza, where most of the population of 2.3 million people has been displaced and the enclave's health officials say more than 43,922 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's offensive.

"The situation is devastating, and frankly, beyond comprehension, and it's getting worse, not better. Winter's here. Famine is imminent, and 400 days into this war, it is totally unacceptable that it's harder than ever to get aid into Gaza," Lammy said.

Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel in October last year, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council that Washington was closely watching Israel's actions to improve the situation for Palestinians and engaging with the Israeli government every day.

"Israel must also urgently take additional steps to alleviate the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza," she said.

President Joe Biden's administration concluded this month that Israel was not currently impeding assistance to Gaza and therefore not violating US law, even as Washington acknowledged the humanitarian situation remained dire in the Palestinian enclave.

The assessment came after the US in an Oct. 13 letter gave Israel a list of steps to take within 30 days to address the worsening situation in Gaza, warning that failure to do so may have possible consequences on US military aid to Israel.

Thomas-Greenfield said Israel was working to implement 12 of the 15 steps.

"We need to see all steps fully implemented and sustained, and we need to see concrete improvement in the humanitarian situation on the ground," she said, including Israel allowing commercial trucks to move into Gaza alongside humanitarian assistance, addressing persistent lawlessness and implementing pauses in fighting in large areas of Gaza to allow assistance to reach those in need.

Tor Wennesland, the UN coordinator for the Middle East peace process, said humanitarian agencies face a challenging and dangerous operational environment in Gaza and access restrictions that hinder their work.

"The humanitarian situation in Gaza, as winter begins, is catastrophic, particularly developments in the north of Gaza with a large-scale and near-total displacement of the population and widespread destruction and clearing of land, amidst what looks like a disturbing disregard for international humanitarian law," Wennesland said.

"The current conditions are among the worst we’ve seen during the entire war and are not set to improve," he said.