The Israeli army has ordered the evacuation of large swathes of Gaza after a series of deadly overnight strikes, including areas that satellite images show are densely populated.
The evacuation map was issued by the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Tuesday, just hours after the military said it was launching a “large-scale attack” on “terror targets” in Gaza after talks to extend the ceasefire failed.
Officials said the operation is expected to expand, amid speculation that a ground operation in Gaza could follow.
Over 400 people were killed in the attacks, according to the Gaza health ministry, as a medic described scenes he witnessed on Tuesday morning as “utter carnage”.
The evacuation map covers most of the perimeter of the Gaza Strip, an area that amounts to 37% of Gaza’s land, which experts have told Sky News is estimated to be more than double the size of a previously designated “buffer zone”.
In the northern city of Beit Hanoun, satellite imagery taken on 3 March by Planet Labs shows the presence of over 2,000 tent structures in the area, now under evacuation according to the new orders.
Thousands of civilians had returned to northern Gaza earlier this year after Israel launched an offensive into the north last October that forced tens of thousands of Gazans to flee south.
Similarly, just south of Gaza City, other satellite images show areas with tent camps that are now under evacuation.
Academic experts who have closely studied the IDF’s maps say the evacuation zone includes and is almost double the size of the area previously marked as an Israeli buffer zone along the edge of the Gaza Strip.
In December, Israel reportedly told a number of Arab states including Egypt that it wants to carve out a buffer zone on the Palestinian side of the Gaza border to prevent future attacks as part of proposals for the enclave after the war ends.
Yaakov Garb, Professor of Environmental Studies at Ben Gurion University, said the evacuation zone is more than twice the size of the buffer zone.
He said it was unclear whether the IDF’s evacuation area is directly related to the existing buffer zone, “or if it signals some similarly durable and more extensive land take. If so, [it] would constitute more than a third of the Gaza Strip”.
Throughout the war, the IDF has published hundreds of evacuation maps on its Arabic X account. Officials released a map in December 2023 that split Gaza into hundreds of zones, which Israel said it would use among other methods to help civilians evacuate to reduce civilian harm.
However, the evacuation zones and notices issued by Israel have come under scrutiny by organisations including rights groups like Human Rights Watch which has said previously these orders did not consider the needs of children and adults with disabilities.
The map issued on Tuesday ordered civilians to flee “known shelters in western Gaza City” and Khan Yunis. It is unclear exactly where these shelters are located.
Tania Hary, executive director of Israeli human rights organisation Gisha, said the existing facilities in areas near where the strikes took place don’t have the capacity to house even more displaced people.
“The places where people are taking shelter are not equipped to handle that kind of influx,” said Ms Hary, who estimates that hundreds of thousands of people are currently sheltering in the areas outlined in the IDF’s evacuation orders.
“Airstrikes are occurring all throughout the strip in a way that civilians don’t know where to actually be safe.”
Attacks launched after ceasefire talks stall
The city of Khan Yunis, located in southern Gaza, was among the locations hit overnight.
The strikes were ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after Israel said Hamas refused demands to change the ceasefire agreement.
The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, condemned the attacks and said he was “horrified”. Areas struck during the operation include Khan Younis, Gaza City, Nuseirat and Jabalia camps.
Videos posted online showed multiple injured and lifeless children taken to hospitals in Gaza, as burnt tents where displaced Palestinians live showed the aftermath of the airstrikes.
Multiple videos filmed at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis showed piles of body bags in the hospital’s mortuary, while relatives of people killed in the strikes were seen mourning.
Injured Gazans were also taken to al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. Dr Feroze Sidhwa, who is working at the Nasser Medical Complex, described the scenes he witnessed on Tuesday morning as “utter carnage”.
“I did six operations overnight… Half of them were small children, probably six and below, I wasn’t exactly sure. Most of them are going to die, unfortunately,” he added.
The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said that at least 413 people were killed in the recent strikes and at least 660 people have been wounded.
Hamas said that at least four of its senior officials were killed in Israeli airstrikes including two top police officers.
Hostage families criticise Netanyahu
The families of Israeli hostages in Gaza have also criticised the strikes, after the Israeli government claimed they were carried out due to Hamas’s “refusal” to release hostages.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum asked why the government chose to pull out of the previously agreed ceasefire deal.
“The claim that the war is being renewed for the release of the hostages is a complete deception – military pressure endangers the hostages and soldiers,” the statement read. Israel believes 59 hostages are being held by Hamas in Gaza, with 24 thought to be alive.
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