Gaza’s chessboard of suffering: tens of thousands on the move again as IDF issues new evacuation orders

CNN — 

Yet again, tens of thousands of people in Gaza are on the move, as the Israeli military issues fresh evacuation orders for a number of areas in Gaza City.

Over the past 10 days, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has issued instructions for hundreds of thousands of people in Khan Younis in the south, Shujaya in central Gaza and the several neighborhoods of Gaza City to leave.

The effect has been to increase the total number of displaced people in Gaza, from 1.7 million in May to an estimated 1.9 million now, according to the UN. Approximately nine out of 10 people in Gaza are now estimated to be internally displaced, many of them multiple times.

“Mass displacement has been predominantly driven by evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military, extensive destruction of both private and public infrastructure, restricted access to essential services, and the persistent fear of ongoing hostilities,” according to the most recent assessment by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

It’s unclear how many people in Gaza City have heeded the latest evacuation order. Many civilians are wary of leaving whatever shelter they have for an uncertain journey to an even more uncertain fate living on the streets or in the overcrowded, unsanitary tent villages that pop up with each evacuation order.