Israel orders evacuation in Deir el-Balah, patients flee Al-Aqsa Hospital

Patients and displaced Palestinians are fleeing Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, the last functioning medical facility in central Gaza, following the latest evacuation orders.

The Israeli army on Sunday demanded Palestinians evacuate an area east of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, previously classified as a “humanitarian area”.

Later, the Gaza Government Media Office confirmed that Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital “is not within the red zone defined by the occupation [Israel]”.

Israel has attacked several Gaza hospitals since October 7.

“To all residents and displaced people in the Deir al-Balah neighbourhood in Block 128 within the marked area on the map, forces will operate aggressively … in your area,” Avichay Adraee, an army spokesperson, said on X, designating it a “dangerous combat area”.

“For your safety, evacuate immediately to the western area [of Al-Mawasi],” he added.

Several times during the 10-month war on Gaza, Israel has ordered mass evacuations to “safe” or “humanitarian” areas.

Human rights groups and international observers have slammed the inhumanity of the orders and the mass suffering caused as a result.

Palestinians have often found themselves attacked by Israel en route to such “safe areas” as well as after they reached such zones.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last October 7, despite a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.

The onslaught has resulted in more than 40,400 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and about 93,500 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.