Abdelraouf Arnaout and Ahmed Asmar
April 03, 2025•Update: April 03, 2025
JERUSALEM/ANKARA
The Israeli army issued new evacuation orders for Palestinian civilians in five areas east of Gaza City on Thursday amid a deadly onslaught on the enclave.
Military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on his X account that the targeted areas include the neighborhoods of Shejaiya, Zeitoun, and Turukman, calling on Palestinians to immediately leave and head to what he called known shelters west of Gaza City.
The spokesman warned that the Israeli army will operate in the targeted areas “with great force.”
The Israeli army has repeatedly issued evacuation orders for Palestinians across Gaza as it escalated its ongoing military assaults on the enclave since October 2023.
On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to escalate attacks on Gaza amid efforts to implement US President Donald Trump's plan to displace Palestinians from the enclave.
Israel began a surprise aerial campaign on Gaza on March 18, and has since killed more than 1,000 victims and injured over 2,500, shattering a January ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Israel and the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.
More than 50,400 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in Israel's military onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for 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.
