In the first weeks of July, the Israeli army ordered about 80,000 residents of Gaza city, in the north of the strip, to evacuate towards the south. At the same time, residents in large areas of Khan Younis were told to leave. But where to?

 

For nine months, Palestinians in Gaza have had to uproot and seek shelter in increasingly dangerous so-called safe zones, where conditions are dire, services are lacking, diseases are rampant and air strikes are always a risk.

 

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, now estimates that nine out of 10 people are internally displaced in the strip. That’s 1.9 million people, including many who have been displaced multiple times.

 

Israel’s army makes the case that “evacuations” are designed to protect civilians from hostilities, but even in war evacuations must adhere to a very strict set of rules that observers on the ground say are not being followed.

 

In this week’s Beyond The Headlines, host Nada AlTaher speaks to Dr Majed Jaber, who describes his harrowing evacuation experience from the European Gaza Hospital. We also hear from Hisham Mhanna, Gaza spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as former executive director of Human Rights Watch Kenneth Roth.