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.



Tunisian Opposition Figure Moussi is Sentenced to Prison

People protest against the decisions of President Kais Saied in Tunis. (AP file photo)
People protest against the decisions of President Kais Saied in Tunis. (AP file photo)
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Tunisian Opposition Figure Moussi is Sentenced to Prison

People protest against the decisions of President Kais Saied in Tunis. (AP file photo)
People protest against the decisions of President Kais Saied in Tunis. (AP file photo)

A potential presidential candidate in Tunisia has been sentenced to two years in prison, marking another setback to the country’s fledgling opposition challenging President Kais Saied as he seeks a new term.

Abir Moussi, a 49-year-old lawyer and the head of the right-wing Free Destourian Party, was arrested in October after criticizing the electoral process and presidential decrees guiding it, alleging a lack of transparency, The AP reported.

Following a complaint by the North African nation's election authority, she was found guilty of violating a controversial anti-fake news decree outlawing spreading information that slanders or harms others. The law has been widely used to prosecute those who criticize authorities.

Moussi’s lawyer Nafaa Laribi told The AP on Tuesday that she still intends to run in the Oct. 6 presidential election, and that, unlike other candidates, nothing in Monday's sentence prevents her from running.

Laribi said Moussi's morale remained high, and he planned to appeal.

The sentence is the latest in a growing crackdown that observers have said is politically motivated against Saied's critics, regardless of political affiliation.

With Moussi and other leading opposition figures in prison, Saied is expected to face little election competition in what was once the Middle East and North Africa’s most progressive democracy.