- Israel’s Defense Forces have escalated their assault on the southern Gaza region.
- A map of the Gaza Strip with over 600 numbered blocks has been made public by the Israeli army.
- Gaza’s electricity supply has also been cut off by Israel.
Following the collapse of peace negotiations with Hamas militants, Israel’s Defense Forces have escalated their assault on the southern Gaza region. After the war started roughly two months ago, the south of the besieged enclave was declared a safe zone; however, Palestinians have questioned Israel’s decision to increase bombing in that area.
Following a surprise attack inside Israel on October 7 by the armed group Hamas that resulted in up to 1,200 deaths, Israel vowed to exact revenge.
Southern Gaza
A map of the Gaza Strip with over 600 numbered blocks has been made public by the Israeli army. Three arrows are pointing south, indicating that Palestinians must flee when told to.
The cybersecurity watchdog NetBlocks, however, confirmed that the majority of Gaza Strip residents had completely lost contact, despite reports from the Palestinian telecoms company Paltel of a nearly complete internet blackout. Gaza’s electricity supply has also been cut off by Israel.
There is confusion among the residents after the IDF distributed leaflets ordering evacuations. Since the Israeli military ordered people to evacuate to the south with only 24 hours’ notice on October 13, over a million Palestinians have been forced to flee northern Gaza.
In 99 UNRWA shelters located in the center and south of Gaza, there are approximately 958,000 registered Palestinian displaced people; 70 of these centers are located in the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis.
Analysts and reports indicate that despite southern Gaza being declared safe at the beginning of Israel’s sanctioned aggravated attack on Palestinians in Gaza, Palestinians are reportedly being forced into this area.
According to the most recent evacuation orders, Palestinians should head toward the Rafah crossing and eventually toward Egypt to drive out Hamas. Though PM Netanyahu has refuted any such intentions, it will become apparent when the sad events transpire.
