Israeli evacuation orders cram Palestinians into shrinking 'humanitarian zone' where food is scarce

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Young girls screamed and elbowed each other in a crush of bodies in southern Gaza, trying desperately to reach the front of the food line. Men doled out rice and chicken as fast as they could, platefuls of the nourishment falling to the ground in the tumult.

Nearby, boys waited to fill plastic containers with water, standing for hours among tents packed so tightly they nearly touched.

Hunger and desperation were palpable Friday in the tent camp along the Deir al-Balah beachfront, after a month of successive evacuation orders that have pressed thousands of Palestinians into the area that the Israeli military calls a “humanitarian zone.”

The zone has long been crowded by Palestinians seeking refuge from bombardment, but the situation grows more dire by the day, as waves of evacuees arrive and food and water grow scarce. Over the last month, the Israeli military has issued evacuation orders for southern Gaza at an unprecedented pace.

At least 84% of Gaza now falls within the evacuation zone, according to the U.N., which also estimates that 90% of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents have been displaced over the course of the war.

Thirteen evacuation orders have been issued since July 22, according to an Associated Press count, significantly reducing the size of the humanitarian zone declared by Israel at the start of the war while pushing more Palestinians into it than ever before. The increased crowding of evacuees can be seen in satellite photos.

“The food that reaches us from the charity is sufficient for the people in our camp,” said Muhammad Al-Qayed, who was displaced from Gaza City and now lives along the beach. “Where do the people who were recently displaced get food from? From where do we provide them?”

Another displaced Palestinian, Adham Hijazi, said: “I have started thinking that if there is no food, I will go and drink seawater to endure it. I am talking seriously. I will drink water and salt.”

The military says the evacuations are necessary because Hamas has launched rockets from within the humanitarian zone. In posts on X, the military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, has instructed Palestinians to flee immediately, saying the military will soon operate “with force” against Hamas militants in the area.

Yasser Felfel, originally displaced from northern Gaza, has watched his camp swell with waves of evacuees.

“There were 32 people in my tent. Now there are almost 50 people, people I don’t know,” he said. “A week ago, there was a lot of food left over. We had breakfast, lunch and dinner. Today, because of the number of people who came here, it is barely enough for lunch.”

In August alone, the evacuation orders have been issued roughly every two days and displaced nearly 250,000 people, the U.N. said.

“Many people here have been displaced more than 10 times. They’re exhausted and broke," said Georgios Petropoulos, the head of the U.N.’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Gaza.

A pair of satellite photos taken over the last month shows the impact of the orders. The imagery, obtained from PlanetLabs and reviewed by the AP, shows that tent camps along the coast grew more densely packed from July 19 to Aug. 19.

On Aug. 19, tents covered nearly every available sandy patch and were pitched closer to the ocean.

Even Palestinians living in the humanitarian zone Israel declared at the start of the war have been forced to move. On July 22, the military ordered the evacuation of most of the eastern edge of the zone, saying that Hamas had launched rockets at Israel. Then on Aug. 16, the military again shrank the zone, calling on Palestinians living in the center to flee.

And on Saturday, the Israeli military issued its latest mass evacuation, ordering Palestinians in four residential areas in the Maghazi refugee camp in eastern Deir al-Balah to leave their homes and shelters and head toward the humanitarian zone. It's unclear how many people were affected.

The evacuations come as international mediators struggle to bridge differences between Israel and Hamas over a cease-fire agreement that would stop the fighting in Gaza and exchange scores of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

The war began on Oct. 7, when Hamas militants blew past Israel's border, killing around 1,200 people and taking about 250 others hostage. Israel's retaliatory offensive has now killed over 40,000 people in Gaza and razed the strip's buildings and infrastructure.

Water has been another casualty of the evacuations. The U.N. says the water supply in Deir al-Balah has decreased by at least 70% since the recent wave of evacuations began, as pumps and desalination plants are caught within evacuation zones.

The lack of clean water is causing skin diseases and other outbreaks. The U.N.'s main health agency has confirmed Gaza's first case of polio in a 10-month-old baby in Deir al-Balah who is now paralyzed in the lower left leg.

Meanwhile, aid groups say it is only growing more difficult to offer help. U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Thursday that the World Food Program lost access to its warehouse in central Deir al-Balah because of a recent evacuation order.

Standing in the water line Friday, Abu Mohammad observed the scarcity around him and prayed it would end soon.

“There is no water, there is no food, there is no money, there is no work, there is nothing,” said Mohammad, who has now been displaced seven times.

“We ask God, not the people, for it to end. We no longer have the capacity. Oh world, we no longer have the capacity.”