Dozens killed and thousands flee as Israel shrinks ‘humanitarian zone’ in Gaza

(CNN) — Dozens of Palestinians have been killed and thousands more forced to flee after Israel launched a fresh ground assault against what it said were Hamas targets in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced Monday that it was reducing the size of its so-called “humanitarian zone,” ordering Palestinians to evacuate from eastern neighborhoods of Khan Younis due to intelligence that Hamas had embedded in the area.

CNN witnessed exhausted and angry Palestinians fleeing Khan Younis, once Gaza’s second-biggest city. As they left, they expressed anger not only at Israel but at Hamas and even other Arab states.

The UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) slammed the evacuation order Tuesday as “confusing” and said it “gave no time for civilians to know from which areas they were required to leave or where they should go.”

The Israeli ground incursion in Khan Younis follows similar operations in Shujayah in the north and parts of central Gaza, where military units have reentered areas to prevent Hamas from reestablishing a presence.

The death toll from the operation continued to rise on Tuesday, as the Hamas-run government media office said 89 people had been killed and 263 injured so far, with nearly 200 buildings bombed.

Dr. Mohammad Saqer, spokesman for Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, told CNN Tuesday that the hospital had issued death certificates for 75 Palestinians killed since Monday morning, the majority of them women and children. Saqer said the hospital was dealing with more than 200 injuries, of which dozens are in serious and critical condition, and he expected the number of deaths to rise.

“Imagine you want nearly 100 thousand people to evacuate in just two hours. It’s not enough for people to evacuate, so that explains the high number of mortalities and casualties among civilians,” he told CNN’s Jim Sciutto on Tuesday.

Many patients were being admitted with missing limbs and “complete burns of the body,” including children, women and the elderly, Saqer said, adding that casualties are dying “on the floor” due to a lack of beds and inadequate supplies.

The IDF said Tuesday that “aircraft struck over 50 terror infrastructure sites, including weapons storage facilities, observation posts, and structures used by Hamas terrorists, as well as underground tunnel routes in the area.”

Additionally, it said, Israeli forces had killed “dozens of terrorists in targeted aerial strikes and close-quarters combat” further south in Rafah. CNN cannot independently verify the IDF claims.

Israel launched its military offensive on October 7 after Hamas attacked southern Israel. At least 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 others abducted, according to Israeli authorities.

Israeli strikes in Gaza have since killed 39,090 Palestinians and injured another 90,147, according to the Ministry of Health there. CNN cannot independently verify the figures from Gazan authorities.

Criticism of Israel, Hamas and Arab world

A journalist working for CNN in Khan Younis filmed video Monday of thousands of people – many on foot or with donkey carts – carrying mattresses and their belongings. Most were women and children.

One woman carrying a box screamed to the camera: “Film this, film it so people can see what’s happening to us.”

A young girl is seen carrying a water bottle and crying loudly, walking through the destroyed street with her mother and siblings.

At one point the sound of heavy gunfire close by sends women and children screaming in panic. Children are seen running barefoot while carrying blankets and belongings.

A man called Mohammad Abdul Jawad told CNN that “The (Israeli) army called us in the morning, ordering people in Abasan, Khuzaa, Al Zanneh, Al Qarara, and Bani Sehaila to evacuate. It all happened suddenly. They said go to the safe area, but there is no safe area in all of the Gaza Strip. They are making fun of us.”

“We left everything, our tents and everything inside them. Where should we go now? It is very hot, we have no money or anything, and no one cares about us.” Jawad said that Israeli tanks had been about 500 meters (1,600 ft) away.

A few people expressed anger toward Arab states for not doing more to help. Um Hazem Sammoun, walking with her children, asked: “Where are the Arab world and the Arab leaders? Let them come look at our children. We don’t know where we are going or where we are walking to. I didn’t want to leave, but when the warplanes and tanks started the bombardment, I was scared for my four children… I swear I am walking and don’t know where to go.”

Some of the evacuees even criticized Hamas. One woman told CNN: “Every day a new order to evacuate. There is no food, drinks, or safety. We are only evacuating from one place to another. Maybe we evacuate this life and never come back. Maybe this way Hamas will be happy. Hamas forced us to leave, not the Israelis.’

A visibly angry man addressed the Hamas leadership, including the head of its military wing Yahya Sinwar, who is thought to be hiding in Gaza’s immense tunnel network.

“Do you see our suffering, Sinwar and (Hamas political leader Ismail) Haniyeh? Until when? What do you want from us? What have you brought us?” he asked.

A mother, Riham Al Agha, holding her daughter’s hand, told CNN: “We are tired, we are exhausted. It is enough. You (Hamas) are staying underground and keeping the people here to be destroyed.”

“Until when should we keep evacuating from one area to another?” Al Agha asked. “We have been evacuated 10 times since October 7. We want a solution. We are losing our children, that’s enough.”

But much of the anger on the streets was also directed at Israel.

A man who gave his name as Abu Sleiman told CNN: “The (Israelis) forced us out naked like this, we are without any weapons. Let them throw their tanks and come confront us. We are men and we will die as men, not Hamas and not Fatah.”

He accused the Israeli military of having “no mercy or humanity. They are fighting civilians, women, and children.’

UN decries ‘inhumane conditions’ for Gazans

The evacuation order on Monday came in the form of the IDF dropping leaflets, sending text messages and posting messages on X, urging civilians in four southern Gaza municipalities to leave immediately. The areas included parts of the so-called humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi, further shrinking the zone.

One IDF post warned civilians in Khan Younis that it “will act forcefully against terrorist organizations. For your safety, you must evacuate immediately westward to the new humanitarian zone. The area you are in is considered a dangerous combat zone.”

The Gazan Civil Defense Directorate said the inclusion in the evacuation order of parts of the humanitarian zone had reduced it from 45 square kilometers to 28 square kilometers (from 17 to 11 square miles). Along with a “safe area” in central Gaza, it meant that 1.7 million people were crammed into an area of just under 50 square kilometers, it said.

The Civil Defense also alleged that its rescuers in Khan Younis had been targeted while trying to recover civilians.

Human rights agencies have previously warned against Israeli evacuation orders issued without the promise of safety or secure accommodation for Palestinians trying to survive bombardment.

On Monday, the UN Relief and Works Agency said the new evacuation orders in Khan Younis would lead to “more suffering and displacement” for Palestinian families. “People in Gaza are exhausted, living in inhumane conditions, with no safety at all,” it posted on X.

The OHCHR on Tuesday raised concerns about Israel’s compliance with obligations under international law.

“Confusing mass evacuation orders issued by a party that is concurrently increasing the intensity of its attacks on the areas from which evacuation is ordered and through which people must move place civilians in more danger and may increase the harm to civilians,” the agency said.

Many of those displaced in Khan Younis have been forced to flee to Al-Mawasi, a sprawling tent city with sparse infrastructure, where there is scant access to shelter or life-saving humanitarian aid, the agency added.

“This raises serious concerns regarding Israel’s compliance with its obligation to take all feasible precautions to avoid, and in any event to minimize, incidental loss of civilian life and injury to civilians.”

Responding to criticism over the evacuation order, the IDF repeated to CNN that remaining in the area had become dangerous for civilians because of “significant terrorist activity and rocket fire toward the State of Israel from the eastern part of the Humanitarian Area in the Gaza Strip.”

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Mohammad Al Sawalhi contributed to this report from Khan Younis.