The IDF has ordered the evacuation of residential areas in northwest Gaza, where it said Palestinian fighters had fired rockets towards the nearby town of Ashkelon.
Colonel Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, said “the specified area has been warned many times in the past” and is “considered a dangerous combat zone”.
The evacuation order came after a rocket attack triggered air raid sirens in Ashkelon on Sunday, when the military said it intercepted one missile and another fell in the sea.
There have been some pauses in fighting across Gaza in recent weeks due to an ongoing campaign to vaccinate children against Polio, though clashes between the IDF and Palestinian fighters have still occurred.
Israel ordered the evacuation of all of northern Gaza in the immediate aftermath of the war, which was triggered by Hamas’ terror attack on Oct 7.
The majority of residents complied with the orders, though around 300,000 residents remained in the north, where Israel’s air and ground operations have focused. Around 90% of Gaza’s population (2.3 million people) has been displaced by the war.
Meanwhile, an Israeli official told the Times of Israel that a new US ceasefire proposal is expected to be presented in the coming days.
“We are waiting,” an official said. “The Americans are being cautious, they don’t want to put forward a deal that they know will be rejected by Hamas. They know that Hamas is the one putting obstacles in the way.”
“Just because it’s not happening soon doesn’t mean it won’t happen,” they added.
