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Israeli Army Orders Fresh Evacuations in Gaza, Fighting Continues

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip flee from Hamad City, following an evacuation order by the Israeli army to leave parts of the southern area of Khan Younis, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip flee from Hamad City, following an evacuation order by the Israeli army to leave parts of the southern area of Khan Younis, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
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Israeli Army Orders Fresh Evacuations in Gaza, Fighting Continues

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip flee from Hamad City, following an evacuation order by the Israeli army to leave parts of the southern area of Khan Younis, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Palestinians displaced by the Israeli air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip flee from Hamad City, following an evacuation order by the Israeli army to leave parts of the southern area of Khan Younis, Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

The Israeli army ordered a fresh evacuation of areas in southern and central Gaza previously designated as a humanitarian safe zone on Friday, saying the areas had been used by Hamas as a base for firing mortars and rockets towards Israel.
According to Reuters, it said warning flyers and text messages had been sent out in the area north of the southern city of Khan Younis and in the eastern part of Deir Al-Balah, where tens of thousands of people have sought shelter from fighting in other parts of Gaza.
"The advance warning to civilians is being issued in order to mitigate harm to the civilian population and to enable civilians to move away from the combat zone," the military said in a statement.
Earlier the military said it had hit an area in Khan Younis from where rockets were fired towards the community of Kissufim on Thursday, finding weapons including shoulder-fired missiles and explosives.
Most of Gaza's 2.3 million population has been displaced multiple times since the start of the Israeli campaign in Gaza, launched following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7. Even in the areas designated as humanitarian safe zones there have been regular reports of casualties from Israeli strikes.

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Türkiye, Iraq Sign Accord on Military, Security, Counter-Terrorism Cooperation

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, in Cairo on August 5, 2024. (AFP)
Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, in Cairo on August 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Türkiye, Iraq Sign Accord on Military, Security, Counter-Terrorism Cooperation

Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, in Cairo on August 5, 2024. (AFP)
Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, in Cairo on August 5, 2024. (AFP)

Türkiye and Iraq have signed a memorandum of understanding on military, security and counter-terrorism cooperation, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Thursday, after two days of high-level security talks in Ankara.

The neighboring countries have in recent years been at loggerheads over Ankara's cross-border military operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants based in northern Iraq's mountainous region.

Iraq has said the operations violate its sovereignty, but Ankara says they are needed to protect itself.

Ties have improved since last year, when they agreed to hold high-level talks on security matters, and after a visit in April by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Baghdad, where he said relations had entered a new phase.

Ankara and Baghdad held a fourth round of meetings this week as part of the dialogue mechanism. In March, Iraq labelled the PKK a "banned organization in Iraq" - a move welcomed by Türkiye.

Fidan, speaking alongside his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein following their talks in Ankara, said the accord signed by the defense ministers of either side carried "historic importance", while Hussein said it was "the first in the history of Iraq and Türkiye" in this field.

"Through the joint coordination and training centers planned in this agreement, we believe we can take our cooperation to the next level," Fidan said.

"We want to advance the understanding we are developing with Iraq on counter-terrorism through concrete steps on the ground," he added.

A Turkish diplomatic source said that, with the agreement, a Joint Security Coordination Centre would be established in Baghdad along with a Joint Training and Cooperation Centre in Bashiqa. Hussein, speaking about the Bashiqa training camp, said "the onus will lie on the Iraqi armed forces", without elaborating.

On Monday, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler told Reuters that recent steps taken by Türkiye and Iraq on counter-terrorism marked a turning point in ties, adding Ankara wanted Baghdad to go a step further and label the PKK a terrorist organization as soon as possible.

The PKK, which has been waging an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984, is designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.