Israel Orders Evacuations in Southern Gaza, Pursuing Hamas Amid Renewed Humanitarian Concerns

Israel told Palestinians to evacuate the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis as it pursued Hamas by hitting the area with airstrikes on Monday. 

The Details: Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Hamas would face “the same and worse” in southern Gaza as it had in the north. Nearly a million Palestinians are sheltering in refugee camps in central and southern Gaza, many of which are located in Khan Younis, Al Jazeera (Lean Left bias) reported. Israel previously told roughly a million civilians in northern Gaza to flee south, but some Palestinians likely remained in northern Gaza over fears that they won't be able to return if they leave.

How the Media Covered It: Some left-rated outlets like AP (Lean Left bias) highlighted concerns that “Palestinians are running out of places to go” in the increasingly “uninhabitable” enclave. Coverage from the right often focused on Hamas, with some op-ed writers accusing ceasefire supporters of wanting “Hamas to win.” A contributor in the Washington Examiner (Lean Right bias), which usually publishes conservative opinions, stood out from this trend by saying, “Far too many Palestinian civilians have been killed.”

Why the Difference? Some may see Israel’s southward turn as evidence that Israel’s war against Hamas was intended as a pretext for, or could lead to, ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, an accusation Israel has denied. Read more about Israel-Palestine ideological divisions.