Israel’s evacuation orders in the Gaza Strip now cover two-thirds of the territory, or 246 square kilometers (95 square miles), United Nations humanitarian monitors say.
The affected area was home to 1.78 million Palestinians, or 77% of Gaza’s population, before the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7, triggered by the devastating Hamas attack on southern Israel.
Early in the war, Israel’s military began telling Palestinians in the northern half of the territory to leave their homes to get out of the way of eventual ground combat.
Over the course of the war, evacuation orders eventually expanded to parts of the south, including the city of Khan Younis and surrounding areas, the current focus of Israel’s ground offensive.
Tens of thousands of people have fled and continue to flee from there, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says in its latest daily report on the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
More than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people is now crammed into the town of Rafah on the border with Egypt and surrounding areas, OCHA says.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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