– I was told that I had to leave. I didn’t sleep last night because of the bombing. I didn’t sleep at all. I can’t sleep, I can’t live. That’s what Miriam Al-Astal from Khan Younis, south of Gaza, says. She is one of many Palestinians who were told by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) to evacuate on Saturday. Miriam Al-Astal and her family must evacuate at short notice from their home in Khan Younis, south of Gaza. Photo: Jebril Kmeil / news Campaigns in Gaza are now in full swing again, after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas expired on Friday. Now Israel says that it has created “safe zones” where civilians can seek shelter. On a map on the IDF website, Gaza is divided into over 100 zones. The IDF says they will notify the population in the various zones when they have to evacuate due to bombing. Israel released leaflets over Gaza with a QR code to the map. On Saturday, Miriam was one of many who were told that she had to go to another zone. Thinks the map doesn’t help anyone Lindis Hurum, secretary general of Legar without borders, is very critical of the so-called safe zones and thinks they don’t work. – We are talking about an incredible number of people who are already exhausted, weak, sick, who will then move from one small part of Gaza to another small part of Gaza. As if it were a simple thing to do, says Hurum. Palestinian civilians are now being treated as pawns in a game, says Secretary General Lindis Hurum of League without Borders. Photo: Emma-Marie B. Whittaker / news She believes that Palestinians are now treated as pieces in a game and not as human beings. – This cannot be allowed to continue. Violation of international law is a serious offense for all of us, says the Secretary-General. news has asked the IDF for a response to the criticism from Hurum and whether it is possible to carry out such an evacuation for the Palestinians in practice. The IDF has confirmed that they have received the questions, but have not yet responded. Residents of Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip tell the BBC that they are now experiencing the heaviest attacks since the war began. A video from the AP news agency will show an Israeli attack in the city. Increased pressure on the population Tormod Heier, professor at the University of Defense, does not think that these maps will mean that fewer civilians are killed. – No. There is an increasingly large proportion of the population who are injured and exhausted and tired, and who do not have the resources needed to quickly move from one area to another, says Heier to news. Tormod Heier does not think the new tactics of the IDF will help them in the fight against Hamas – nor will they help the civilians in Gaza. Photo: Frode Fjerdingstad / news On the contrary, he believes that the leaflet from the IDF increases the pressure on the civilian population in Gaza. – They contribute to further increasing the psychological pressure on a population that has already been badly hit, in that they must be prepared at all times to pack everything they have and move to a new area, at very short notice. Peter Viggo Jakobsen, lecturer at the Danish Defense Academy, also does not think that the map will help the civilians. – Although Israel is now using maps and leaflets to signal that they are doing everything to live up to the rules of war, it will still be difficult to do so in practice, he says to Denmark’s radio (DR). I think it’s impossible to get away Palestinians news has spoken to in Gaza, I think it’s so to speak impossible to get away from the bombs, despite the map the IDF has made. Especially for families with children and injured or sick family members, it is difficult to evacuate at short notice. Most also do not have access to a good car or fuel. Nabil Saq-Allah has already fled from Gaza City to Khan Younis. Now he is just waiting to suddenly have to evacuate from there too. Nabil Saq-Allah is from Gaza City in the north of Gaza, but has fled south to Khan Younis. Photo: Jebril Kmail / news – These maps … We need international protection. We are bombed in the south, bombed in the north, bombed everywhere. There are no safe places in the whole of Gaza, he says to a local team in Gaza who work for news. On Saturday, a spokesperson for the IDF posted several new maps on X (formerly Twitter) and asked residents in specific, numbered areas to evacuate. Photo: Skjermdump/X A response to international pressure The fact that Israel has now created a map to help civilians evacuate may be a sign that they feel pressured by the international community, believes Tormod Heier. – It indicates that the Israeli authorities are in a way allowing themselves to be pressured, by accommodating some of the international concern, and the criticism of the IDF and how Israel is waging war in one of the world’s most densely populated areas, says the professor. He also does not think this will help Israel in the fight against Hamas, because their soldiers will also move to the “safe zones”. – But surely the IDF must also be aware that Hamas wants to do just that? – Yes that is correct. This move on the part of the IDF perhaps primarily aims to destroy the military infrastructure, answers Heier, and cites the tunnel system and command center as examples.
ttn-69
Israel claims this map will help civilians in Gaza – several are critical
