IDF expands designated humanitarian zone in southern Gaza, where most aid is headed
Military also says it will allow more tents, shelter materials, food, water, and medical supplies to enter area, which is extended to include some neighborhoods of Khan Younis
The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that it had expanded the designated “humanitarian zone” in southern Gaza, where the vast majority of the Palestinian population in the Strip currently resides.
It also said it would allow more tents, shelter materials, food, water, and medical supplies to enter.
According to a map released by the IDF, several neighborhoods of Khan Younis and some areas on the outskirts of the Nuseirat refugee camp were being added to the humanitarian zone.
The zone is where most aid is directed, and where several field hospitals have been established. Its size has changed multiple times amid evolving IDF operations against the Hamas terror group.
Residents of Nuseirat reported that Israeli tanks arrived in the western side of the camp Monday without warning, causing panic among the residents and displaced families there.
The zone expansion came as a deadline approached for the US to assess that Israel has improved supplies of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
In mid-October, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Israel in a letter that it had 30 days — until November 13, this Wednesday — to implement significant improvements to the humanitarian situation in Gaza or jeopardize the continued supply of US weapons.
They complained that a drop in aid supplies had called into question Israel’s commitment that it would not restrict the entry of aid into Gaza and that it is using US weapons in line with international law.
That written commitment was provided last March in order to ensure Israel’s compliance with a national security memorandum issued by Biden in February. The memo applies to all recipients of US security assistance.
Austin repeated that warning to his new Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz, during their first phone conversation on Friday, saying Israel risks jeopardizing the ongoing provision of US weaponry for the Gaza war if it does not credibly show that it has improved the supply and distribution of aid to Gazan noncombatants, Channel 12 reported.
Katz was said to respond that Israel is trying to cooperate on the aid issue, but Hamas keeps stealing supplies and selling them for high prices. Israel wants to be sure the aid reaches the populace, Katz said, and is working with Arab states to help ensure this.
The expansion of the humanitarian zone comes amid an IDF operation against Hamas in northern Gaza’s Jabalia and nearby towns, during which over 55,000 Palestinian civilians have been displaced, according to Hamas-controlled authorities. The evacuated civilians have so far mostly headed to Gaza City, and not to the Strip’s south where the humanitarian zone is.
With the war in Gaza now in its 14th month, Israel is focusing its operations in the north and center of Gaza on what it says is a campaign to stop Hamas terrorists from waging attacks and to prevent them from regrouping.
The already slim chances of a ceasefire receded further over the weekend when mediator Qatar said it was suspending its efforts until both Israel and Hamas showed greater willingness to reach an agreement.
The war in Gaza was sparked on October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says more than 43,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far. The toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 18,000 combatants in battle and another 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
