JERUSALEM (Reuters) – 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.
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.
The latest evacuation warnings came as negotiators in Doha were due to meet for a second day of talks aimed at reaching a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and bring Israeli and foreign hostages home.
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.
Israel accuses Hamas and other militant groups of deliberately basing fighters in civilian areas, a charge Hamas denies. The fighting has in any case become more scattered and less organised as Hamas has shifted towards guerrilla warfare style tactics by small groups of fighters.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)
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