The Israeli military on Wednesday (10 July) has ordered the evacuation of Gaza City, citing renewed fighting and designating it a “dangerous combat zone.” Leaflets dropped by aircraft instructed residents to use safe routes to shelters in Deir al-Balah and al-Zawaida. Over recent weeks, Israeli forces have re-entered areas of Gaza City where they suspect the presence of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad forces. Simultaneously, indirect negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas are scheduled to resume in Qatar, involving intelligence chiefs from Egypt, the US, and Israel. Earlier airstrikes by Israel in central Gaza reportedly killed 20 Palestinians, including women and children, some within a declared “safe zone.”
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