RAMALLAH, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- President of the Palestinian National Council Rawhi Fattouh on Friday warned of the Israeli army's actions to reduce humanitarian areas in the Gaza Strip.
Forcing Gaza's residents to continually relocate is a "psychological, physical, and economic torment that burdens citizens who do not have enough to feed their families or meet their basic living needs," Fattouh said.
The Israeli military issued an order on Friday that affects six blocs in Deir al Balah and Khan Younis, including two within the Israeli-designated zone in Al Mawasi in western Khan Younis, according to an update released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
This is one of the largest evacuation orders affecting the zone to date and it shrinks the size of the so-called "humanitarian area" to about 41 square km, or approximately 11 percent of the total area of the Gaza Strip, the update said.
Eight evacuation orders have been issued by the Israeli military in August, affecting tens of thousands of people in Khan Younis and, to a lesser extent, in northern Gaza, it added.
Also on Friday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East said people in the Gaza Strip remain trapped in an endless nightmare of death and destruction, as new evacuation orders have been issued by Israeli authorities. ■
