The News
Israeli authorities ordered mass evacuations in southern Gaza a day after a strike on a school-turned-shelter killed at least 80 Palestinians, according to local health authorities — one of the deadliest attacks in Gaza since the conflict began.
Israeli officials disputed the death toll, saying the strike had targeted and killed 19 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters, the Associated Press reported.
The international community, including leaders from the EU, France, Germany, and the UK, condemned the strike; the White House said it was “deeply concerned,” and US Vice President Kamala Harris said “far too many civilians have been killed.”
Schools in Gaza are some of the last places in the war-torn strip that still have walls and access to limited plumbing, making them attractive “for the simple reason that the alternatives are worse,” The New York Times wrote, but they have now become frequent targets of the Israeli military.
The latest evacuation orders impact Khan Younis, Gaza’s second-largest city, including part of an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone from which the military said Hamas fired rockets. The safe zone has significantly reduced in area several times since the war began.
A majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million population has already been displaced; one UN official said Sunday that Gazans have “nowhere to go.”
Meanwhile, tensions with Hezbollah in the north continue to flare as Lebanon braces for a war with Israel.