UN says Israel evacuation order largest in Gaza since October

The United Nations said on Tuesday that an order by Israel for Palestinians to evacuate areas of Khan Younis and Rafah was the largest such edict in the Gaza Strip since 1.1 million people were told to leave the north of the enclave in October.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Monday's evacuation order applies to about a third of Gaza and initial estimates by the UN Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA) showed that some 250,000 people may have been currently living in that area.

Dujarric said, "An evacuation of such a massive scale will only heighten the suffering of civilians and drive humanitarian needs even higher."

"People are left with the impossible choice of having to relocate, some most likely for the second or third time, to areas that have barely any spaces or services, or staying in areas where they know heavy fighting will take place," he said.

Reuters