Israeli evacuation decrees leave Gazans confused

The members of the WhatsApp group had advantages that many other Gazans lacked: working cellphones and a way to communicate with each other to prevent deadly Israeli attacks.

But excerpts from their conversations about the besieged southern town of Khan Younis show how even they were baffled by Israel’s sometimes contradictory evacuation warnings, which they described as confusing.

“How do you know which blocks are threatened? Where do you get the news from?,” read one of the excerpts seen by The New York Times.

‘Is block 49 threatened?’

“Folks, if anyone understands the map, please explain it to us.”

For the many Gazans without reliable cellphones or access to social media, the options for obtaining accurate information to navigate Israel’s evacuation orders are even more challenging — especially as the Israeli army continues its offensive this month against Hamas militants in the south of Gaza has intensified.

The United States has pressured Israel to change the nature of its southern campaign to ensure civilian casualties are minimized, infrastructure is not decimated, and the delivery of humanitarian aid is enabled. Israel says it is addressing humanitarian concerns and points to the directions it has given to Gaza residents – but on the ground, where a wrong turn can mean the difference between life and death, widespread confusion remains.

Since the lull in fighting ended and the focus on southern Gaza began, an Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, has posted a series of Arabic-language maps on social media showing which areas people should leave due to danger, accompanied by text about which blocks you should evacuate.

The block numbers correspond to an interactive map of the zones that the army published on December 1. The Israeli army has also dropped kites in Arabic in several regions to advise civilians to evacuate. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has said the cards represent an improvement on Israel’s part to protect civilians.

But it quickly became clear that Gazans are having difficulty understanding the evacuation orders. Communications networks are unreliable and patchy in Gaza, preventing many people from accessing online maps and instructions. Electricity is also scarce, making it difficult to keep mobile phones charged. Some Gazans say they have not even seen the maps.

Moreover, the Israeli army’s evacuation announcements sometimes seemed to contradict themselves.

In one post on December 2For example, Israel published a map that marked the area east of Khan Younis, bordering Israel, and instructed those staying in the marked area to move south to Rafah. However, the text of the post mentioned block groups requiring evacuation that were not shown on any map in the same post – and some were on the other side of Gaza, on the coast.

In a message on December 3, the evacuation order map told Gazans in dozens of specific blocks to leave. However, the text contradicted the order and omitted some of it. For example, blocks 55, 99 and 103-106 were marked for evacuation on the map, but not in the text.

The December 2 and 3 posts – the December 3 map was reposted on December 4 – were the last maps of South Gaza available on Colonel Adraee’s X account before he posted. new card on December 9, which showed that a small area in the center of Khan Younis had to be evacuated. On that map, block 103 was the only discrepancy between the text of the message and the map.

When asked to clarify which parts of Gaza were under evacuation orders, the Israeli military referred The Times to Colonel Adraee’s social media account.

The Israeli military, when asked about the discrepancies, told The Times that the maps in the social media posts were intended to provide “general guidance.” Israel says it is taking precautions in its fight against Hamas terrorists to limit civilian casualties, viewing them as an unfortunate but unavoidable part of the war.

Even when Gazans reach areas that Israel has designated as safe, the danger is often far from over.

“Families are aware that such zones do not provide safety in terms of life-saving services – such as water and sanitation,” said James Elder, a spokesman for UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund. “They know they are in danger when they are on the road. They know locations change. And they know that so-called safe zones have been hit in the past. So they are confused, scared and under constant attack.”

Last Wednesday, the Shaboura area of ​​Rafah, the southern Gaza city bordering Egypt, was attacked despite Israeli military advice that Gazans could safely take shelter there. The attack in Al Shaboura, described by three witnesses in voicemail recordings heard by The Times, was previously reported by The Washington Post. In a statement on the attack, the Israeli military said that in its effort to dismantle Hamas’ military and administrative capabilities, it followed international law and “took feasible precautions to limit damage to the civilian population.”

The Israeli agency that oversees policy for the Palestinian territories, COGAT, said it was using various methods to communicate with Gazans when and where to evacuate.

“We also continuously monitor whether our advance warning is efficient,” says Colonel Moshe Tetro, head of coordination and contact person at COGAT. “We look at whether the message has been received, and not just whether it has been received, but also whether people actually act on the message.”

“It’s not just about issuing warnings,” he said.

Since the first week of the war, Israel has ordered the evacuation of more than half of the Gaza Strip. The United Nations says nearly 1.9 million people, or more than 80 percent of Gaza’s population, have been displaced. More than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities.

As Gaza residents huddle into smaller areas, shelters have become so overcrowded that hundreds of people are forced to share one toilet. The United Nations has warned that in Rafah “there is no longer any empty space for people to take shelter, even in the south and other open areas.”

Maisa al-Jarar, a 32-year-old mother of five, said she and her family fled from Gaza City to Khan Younis at the start of the war. Now, she says, Israeli forces have warned them to look elsewhere.

“They left kites – people are terrified,” she said.

‘We don’t even know which block we are in, which area. We don’t know which zone and which number,” Ms al-Jarar said via Facebook Messenger. “My husband went to Rafah to find a place for us but it’s all disgusting. People are forced to relieve themselves on the street. The stench is terrible, the disease is spreading.”

Choking back tears, Mrs. Al-Jarar described a litany of misery: being forced to feed her children salt water, her husband desperate for food that was becoming increasingly expensive and scarce, and the inability to get medicine for her sick find children.

“We want to live a life of dignity,” she said. ‘I wish they would drop an atomic bomb on us. I swear, it would be more comfortable than this life we’re living.

Ameera Harouda contributed reporting from Doha, Qatar, and Abu Bakr Bashir from London.