London, UK – 12 August 2025
In a dramatic escalation of its military campaign, Israel has issued new, large-scale evacuation orders to residents of northern Gaza, including parts of Gaza City, instructing them to move to the southern border areas. The directive, which was issued via leaflets and phone calls, has been met with international alarm and has triggered a new wave of forced displacement, deepening an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
The orders specifically targeted residents in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, a locality that has endured some of the most intense bombardments in the 22-month-long conflict. According to the Israeli military, the evacuation is a precursor to a major ground offensive aimed at taking control of Gaza City and dismantling remaining Hamas infrastructure. While the exact number of people affected by this latest order is unclear, aid agencies estimate that it could displace tens of thousands of residents who had either remained in the north or returned during a brief ceasefire earlier this year.
This move marks a significant intensification of Israel’s military strategy, which, as announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, is now focused on taking “complete military control” of the entire Gaza Strip. The Israeli government’s plan has been met with staunch opposition from a wide range of international actors, including France and the UN’s top human rights official, Volker Türk, who insists such a move must be halted immediately. Critics argue that the plan risks “more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction and atrocity crimes.”
The designated “safe zone” for the newly displaced is the Al-Mawasi area in western Khan Younis, an already severely overcrowded and resource-deprived stretch of land near the Egyptian border. The humanitarian situation in this region is dire. According to reports from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), essential infrastructure is almost entirely non-existent. A recent UN report on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza painted a grim picture, noting that 78% of structures have been destroyed or damaged across the strip. The conditions for those already sheltering in the border area are inhumane, with a critical lack of shelter, clean water, sanitation, and medical care. The area’s population density is a staggering 88,000 people per square mile, and aid agencies are struggling to deliver even the most basic supplies due to insecurity and access restrictions.
The latest evacuation orders come as UN experts warn that starvation is being used as a “savage weapon of war.” A recent UN report highlighted that over 500,000 people—a quarter of Gaza’s population—are facing famine, with all 320,000 children under the age of five at risk of acute malnutrition. UN aid delivery is hampered by access restrictions and insecurity, and food and medical supplies are frequently looted before reaching their destinations.
Eyewitness accounts from the ground paint a picture of fear and desperation. Residents told Al Jazeera that they have been repeatedly displaced and are now being forced to move again, this time with a growing sense of hopelessness. “We were forced to flee our homes once, and now again,” said one resident, Maysaa al-Heila, in an interview. “There is nothing left here to occupy. There is no Gaza left.” For many, the option of staying and facing the looming ground offensive or moving to an area with no resources and continued bombardment is no choice at all. This latest order from the Israeli military has further fueled fears that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is on the brink of becoming an unmitigated disaster of unprecedented proportions.
