Israeli army orders residents of northern Gaza village to leave ahead of attacks

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army issued an immediate evacuation order on Wednesday for residents of a Palestinian town in the northern Gaza Strip ahead of attacks.

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee said on his X account that residents of Jabalia village, designated as D5, must immediately leave and head to the center of Gaza City.

The spokesman claimed rocket fire had originated from the area.

This warning follows a familiar pattern of Israeli military actions in Gaza, where such alerts often precede airstrikes.

These warnings rarely provide sufficient time for evacuation, resulting in high civilian casualties.

The evacuation order comes as Israel and Hamas are close to reaching a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner swap deal to end Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave.

Israel has continued a genocidal war on Gaza, which has killed more than 46,700 people, most of them women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio in Istanbul