Israeli military orders new evacuations in southern Gaza as fighting intensifies

The Israeli military expanded its evacuation zones to include the second-largest city in Gaza, Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. Since Oct. 13, thousands of Palestinians have fled the northern Gaza territory after the Israeli forces warned them to evacuate.

Long after the conflict is over, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the military needs to maintain unrestricted security control over the Gaza Strip. More than 1,200 Israelis were killed, most of them civilians, and up to 240 hostages were taken after Hamas militants crossed the border and attacked Israeli communities on Oct. 7.

A humanitarian crisis in southern Gaza is getting worse as a result of Israel's expanding airstrikes and ground offensive in response to the attack as thousands Palestinians have fled from the north.

Gaza's evacuation zones established by Israeli military

The United Nations' human rights commissioner has called on the international community to act "with one voice" and press for an immediate cease-fire.

“Palestinians in Gaza are living in utter, deepening horror,” the U.N.'s Volker Türk said at a news conference in Geneva. “As an immediate step, I call for an urgent cessation of hostilities and the release of all hostages.”

More than16,200 Palestinians have died and 42,000 have been injured in Gaza in the Israeli campaign, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. An estimated 70% of the fatalities have been women and children, the ministry says. It does not distinguish between combatant and civilian deaths.

Contributing: The Associated Press

SOURCE BBC, The Associated Press, USA TODAY research