The Israeli military has issued evacuation orders for several neighborhoods in Gaza City, the latest in a series of such orders that have forced Palestinians to flee as Israel intensifies its military campaign against Hamas in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

The new evacuation order was issued late Thursday, following a statement by Palestinian health authorities that dozens of people, including children, were killed in Israeli strikes on a school turned shelter in Gaza City. Israel is investigating the incident.

The evacuation order has added to the hardships faced by Palestinians who have already endured displacement from their homes and poor living conditions during the first 15 months of the war. A two-month-old cease-fire between Israel and Hamas collapsed in mid-March after they failed to agree on an extension, ending a brief respite for Palestinians in Gaza.

Since then, the Israeli military has launched a significant bombing campaign throughout Gaza aimed at compelling Hamas to release more hostages. Avichay Adraee, the military’s Arabic-language spokesman, issued a “final” warning on social media urging people to relocate southward before a new attack, suggesting that militant groups were operating among civilians in the area.

While some Palestinians have complied with evacuation orders, others have chosen to stay in their homes or shelters, unable or unwilling to be displaced further.

The Israeli military is investigating reports about the Thursday incident in the Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City and has not yet commented on it.

On Wednesday, Adraee had called for people to leave Tuffah. His order on Thursday was for other parts of the city.

Multiple videos verified by The New York Times show an explosion and its chaotic aftermath at the Dar al-Arqam school, where civilians were sheltering. The strikes were followed by a chaotic scene at Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, where wounded and bloodied children were rushed in.

The bodies of 27 people killed in the strike arrived at the hospital, according to the Gaza health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its casualty counts.

One of those killed was the grandson of Khalil al-Hayya, Hamas’s top negotiator based in Qatar, the Hamas-run Al Aqsa TV channel reported.

Israel has previously targeted schools being used as shelters, claiming that Hamas militants were operating command centers in them. Hamas has denied these claims, and the United Nations has stated that Israeli strikes on schools likely violated the law by causing disproportionate harm to noncombatants.

More than 1,000 people in Gaza have been killed since the collapse of the cease-fire on Mar. 18, and over 50,000 people have been killed since the start of the war, according to the Gaza health ministry. The war began after Hamas-led forces attacked Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people.

Nader Ibrahim contributed to the reporting.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/04/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-hamas-evacuation.html