Witnesses said an air strike in Israel on the Gaza Strip triggered a massive displacement of hundreds of Palestinian families.
Rescue team recovered the bodies of five people, while dozens of injured civilians were evacuated to Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, according to local reports.
The bombing was one of the largest evacuation orders issued since its recovery in March.
This is because pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to refocus on efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement.
Residents of Gaza City said dozens of Israeli air strikes targeted densely populated eastern communities, including Shujaiya, Tuffah and Zeitoun.
Videos posted by activists on social media captured scenes of chaos and explosions, illuminating the night sky, followed by rising flames and smoke from the skyline.
One of the strikes reportedly attacked a school in Zeitoun, which has been sheltering displaced families.
The five people reportedly took place during a strike at the Al Shati camp in western Gaza.
The IDF earlier ordered residents to leave much of northern Gaza in hopes of an attack. Most of the displaced people moved westward in Gaza, rather than following the IDF’s instructions to the southern region.
“We have no choice but to leave everything behind,” Abeer Talba, a mother of seven, fled Zeitoun with her family.
“We received a recording of the phone in Arabic, telling us that we were in the combat zone and had to evacuate immediately.
“This is the seventh time we’ve been forced to flee,” she added. “We’re on the street again, with no food, no water. My children are hungry. Death is kinder than that.”
Amid the growing humanitarian crisis, there are concerns that evacuation orders and ongoing air strikes are part of a broader Israeli plan to expand its ground offensive further into Gaza.
However, some Israeli media also speculated that some generals could almost conclude that military operations in Gaza were about to be achieved.
This is also the view of many former Army leaders who fear that the descendants of the Gaza movement will fall into more consumption, and that guerrilla-style wars will lead to more deaths – hostages, civilians and soldiers.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s next move is closely watching. Although Benjamin Netanyahu’s instinct has been to continue the war and defeat Hamas, he faces pressure from both home and abroad to seek a new ceasefire agreement.
