Families sheltering in the southern Gaza Strip were forced to abandon their homes and makeshift camps this week after new evacuation orders were issued, signalling a further tightening of military control amid the ongoing genocidal war. Residents in the town of Bani Suheila, east of Khan Younis, said leaflets were dropped warning that their area had been designated a military zone and instructing people to leave immediately. For many, the order arrived with no clarity on where safety might now lie.

Those affected described scenes of hurried displacement, with entire families gathering what little they could carry before moving further west. The warnings targeted neighbourhoods where thousands have already been living in tents after earlier rounds of forced movement. Local officials said the latest orders affect around 3,000 people, adding to a cycle in which communities are repeatedly uprooted as control lines are pushed deeper into populated areas.

Residents noted that this was not the first such expansion since the ceasefire announced last October. According to people on the ground, the boundary marking military withdrawal has shifted several times, each move swallowing more land and pushing civilians into ever smaller spaces. Almost the entire population of Gaza is now compressed into a fraction of the territory, surviving in damaged buildings or temporary shelters, with basic services barely functioning.

Despite the ceasefire, violence has not ceased. Air activity and ground fire have continued across the territory, while humanitarian provisions tied to the agreement remain largely unfulfilled. The situation has left civilians exposed not only to renewed danger but also to worsening living conditions, as displacement compounds shortages of shelter, water, and medical care. Since the genocidal war began in October 2023, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed, with hundreds more losing their lives even after the ceasefire was declared.