Israeli army orders mass evacuation of Gaza neighborhoods amid intensifying bombardment
Army warns of expanded attacks across northern Gaza as death toll surpasses 60 on Saturday alone
Residents began fleeing toward safer areas after the Israeli army dropped leaflets via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) urging evacuation of Palestinians living in the Halawa Camp, located in the Zarka area south of Jabalia, on June 12, 2025.
GAZA CITY, Palestine / ANKARA
The Israeli army issued mass evacuation orders on Sunday warning residents of multiple densely populated neighborhoods in Gaza City and Jabalia of “intensifying military activity” across the northern part of the enclave.
A statement, released by army spokesperson Avichay Adraee, called on residents of at least 17 areas including eastern Zeitoun, the Old City, Tuffah, Daraj, Sabra, Jabalia al-Balad, Jabalia Camp, and Tel al-Zaatar, to “immediately evacuate south to the Al-Mawasi area” or face lethal consequences.
The army warned that operations in the area would escalate further and expand westward towards central Gaza City.
Rights groups and Palestinian officials have condemned such forced displacement orders as collective punishment and part of Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza, which killed over 60 Palestinians across the enclave on Saturday alone.
Rejecting international calls for a ceasefire, the Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive against Gaza since October 2023, killing more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
