Almost 80 percent of the Gaza Strip is now under Israeli evacuation orders or come under military occupation, according to a CNN report published on Saturday.
Israeli forces are pushing civilians into smaller and more overcrowded areas, the report noted, with growing international concern over the scale of displacement and devastation.
Israeli officials say the goal is "complete control" over Gaza. As the war escalates, so too do the areas declared military zones or those marked for clearance. Palestinians face repeated forced displacement amid a worsening humanitarian crisis, with health services collapsing, extreme food scarcity and clean water essentially non-existent.
Since mid-March, when Israel broke a temporary ceasefire, it has imposed a no-go zone running 2 to 3 kilometres deep along Gaza’s eastern border. This includes a one-kilometre-wide buffer where homes, factories, and farmland have been flattened.
Fishing is also nearly impossible. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says most fishing boats have been destroyed, with even fishermen close to the shore coming under fire.
In early April, Israel created the so-called "Morag Corridor" in Rafah, with the stated aim to "divide the Strip". It is one of at least four military corridors carved through Gaza, with neighbourhoods, civilian buildings and agricultural land are being bulldozed to make space.
Since 18 March, Israeli forces have issued at least 31 evacuation orders, with two orders often being issued in one day. The UN-led Site Management Working Group estimates 600,000 people have been displaced in that period, with many having fled multiple times. Israel has not said how long the orders will last, and when CNN asked the Israeli military for clarification, no reply was given.
This week, new evacuation orders were issued for much of southern Gaza. Civilians were told to head to Al-Mawasi - a narrow coastal strip in the south that was once fairly sparse rural farmland, but which is now Gaza’s most crowded area. The UN’s humanitarian office (OCHA) says 116,000 people were sheltering there, around 6 percent of Gaza's population.
Aid agencies say these directives are often vague and rely on internet access, which is intermittent at best. CNN reports that Gaza’s landmarks have been obliterated - shops, roads, and trees are gone and people struggle to navigate through rubble and other hazard. They are now forced to walk through Israeli military checkpoints to reach so-called safe areas.
Destruction extends even to zones not under evacuation orders.
New York University researchers estimate that 60 percent of buildings in Gaza are now destroyed. UNRWA reports that 92 percent of homes have been damaged or demolished. The UN’s satellite centre (UNOSAT) found that 68% of the road network has been hit, which severely disrupts aid deliveries.
There are few places left to go - aid groups warn the entire Strip is becoming uninhabitable, with no clear end to the war and no secure aid corridors.
Gazans are being herded into smaller, devastated spaces and the cost to civilian life is growing by the day.
Israel has killed 54,381 Palestinians since it began its war on Gaza, the vast majority of whom are innocent civilians.