Israel’s army called Saturday on Palestinians in Gaza City to move to a humanitarian area it designated in the south as it expanded its operations in preparation for seizing the famine-stricken city.
Parts of the city, home to nearly 1 million people, are already considered “red zones,” where evacuation orders have been issued ahead of expected heavy fighting.
Aid groups have repeatedly warned that a large-scale evacuation of Gaza City would exacerbate the dire humanitarian crisis. Palestinians have been uprooted and displaced multiple times during the nearly two-year-long war, with many being too weak to move and having nowhere to go.
Israeli military spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote in X that the army declared Muwasi — a makeshift tent camp in southern Gaza Strip — a humanitarian area and urged everyone in the city, which it called a Hamas stronghold and specified as a combat zone, to leave. The army said they could travel in cars down a designated road without being searched.
Yousef Al Zanoun / AP
The military, in a statement, provided a map showing the area in Khan Younis that the humanitarian area encompasses, which includes the block where Nasser Hospital is located. The area around the hospital has been considered a red zone, though not the medical facility itself. Last week, Israel struck the hospital, killing 22 people, including Mariam Dagga, who worked for The Associated Press and other media outlets. The hospital was not under evacuation.
The designated safe zone would include field hospitals, water pipelines, food and tents, and relief efforts “will continue on an ongoing basis in cooperation with the U.N. and international organizations,” the statement said. The United Nations couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
Israeli forces have struck humanitarian areas throughout the war, including Muwasi, which they previously declared a safe zone, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The evacuation order came a day after Israel struck a high-rise building in Gaza City, saying Hamas used it for surveillance, without providing evidence.
Yousef Al Zanoun / AP 
The war started after Hamas-led terrorists killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people in their attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Forty-eight hostages remain in Gaza, with many released through ceasefires or other agreements. Israel believes about 20 are still alive, though the bodies of two hostages were recovered during a joint operation in late August.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants but says women and children make up around half the dead. The U.N. and independent experts consider it the most reliable source on war casualties. Israel disputes its figures but has not provided its own.
Israel says the war will continue until all the hostages are returned and Hamas is disarmed, and that it will retain open-ended security control of the territory of some 2 million Palestinians. Hamas has said it will only release the remaining hostages in return for Palestinian prisoners, a lasting ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
“Lack of food, treatment and possibilities”
Shamm Qudeih, a toddler who was photographed by Dagga and evacuated to Italy for treatment for severe malnutrition and a genetic metabolic disease, celebrated her second birthday in an Italian hospital this week. She was evacuated with her mother and 10-year-old sister. The Italian Foreign Ministry says 181 Palestinian children are being treated in Italy.
A photo of Shamm in her mother’s arms in Gaza went viral for the child’s thin limbs, visible ribs and distressed face. Shamm weighed about nine pounds when she arrived at the Santobono Pausilipon Children’s Hospital in Naples.
Mariam Dagga / AP 
The toddler was “in a serious and challenging clinical state,” said Dr. Daniele de Brasi, a pediatric genetic disease specialist who is treating Shamm. De Brasi said “a big part” of her undernourishment was due to a genetic metabolic disease called glycogen storage disease, which interferes with the absorption of nutrients, particularly carbohydrates, and can cause muscle weakness and impede growth. The condition is primarily managed through a high-carbohydrate diet.
Shamm’s mother, Islam Qudeih, said that the family has moved more than a dozen times since the start of the war in Gaza. It has been a struggle to get proper medical care, she said. Doctors suspected Shamm had the rare condition, but could not test for it or treat it properly. Qudeih said her daughter’s condition “became worse as a result of the lack of food, treatment and possibilities.”
Shamm now weighs just over 12 pounds, which is still no more than half of the median weight for a child her age, de Brasi said. Her current caloric intake is about 500 calories a day, which doctors are gradually increasing. A cornerstone of her diet is a carbohydrate-rich porridge. At night, a feeding tube ensures she gets the right mix of nutrients while she sleeps. Doctors hope to remove the tube in about a month.
Andrew Medichini / AP 
Shamm’s sister Judi has also been treated by doctors after they noticed she was underweight, de Brasi said. Judi has gained about five pounds and is in condition. Qudeih said that she is allowing herself to experience relief as her daughters improve, but she can’t imagine going back to Gaza, where Shamm’s father remains.
“Now there is no way to go back, as long as the war is going on. There are no possibilities for my daughters,” Qudeih said.