Gaza Families Ordered to Evacuate by Israel

Palestinians in Gaza city moved out of the places they were staying, after Israeli army orders.

Israeli forces issued new orders to Palestinian residents and displaced families in several districts of Gaza City to evacuate their homes. The new move led to the displacement of dozens of families, who headed to other locations west and south of Gaza City.

An Israeli army spokesman posted on social media that Palestinians in some blocks in Gaza City should leave to other places.

Gaza's health ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants, but officials say most of the dead throughout the war have been civilians. Israel has lost 324 soldiers in Gaza, and says at least a third of the Palestinian dead are fighters.

Israeli military chief spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the tunnels were used by Hamas to smuggle weapons into Gaza and store them, to fire mortars and rockets at Israel, and to allow cover for militants in hostile activities against Israel.

Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, has been the focus of an Israeli assault since May. The operation has displaced some 800,000 Palestinians from Rafah, as estimated by the UN.

Israel's leaders have said they were winding down the phase of intense fighting against Hamas, the Islamist militant group that has governed Gaza since 2007, and would soon shift to more targeted operations.

However with pressure mounting from global communities, Hamas has accepted a U.S. proposal to begin talks on releasing Israeli hostages, including soldiers and men, 16 days after the first phase of an agreement aimed at ending the Gaza war, a senior Hamas source said.

More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military onslaught, according to Gaza health officials, and the coastal enclave has largely been reduced to rubble.