Leaked Memo Shows US Warns Against Mass Evacuations From Israel's GazaExBulletin

Palestinians carry their belongings en route to safer areas, after the Israeli army warned to evacuate the Dawa faculty of the Ministry of Endowments in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on Monday. Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images

. Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images

TEL AVIV, Israel The Biden administration is urging the Israeli military to make major changes to its dramatically increased pace of mass evacuation orders that are repeatedly displacing tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza, according to a U.S. Embassy memo obtained by NPR.

For the first time since the war began last October, the Israeli military on Thursday rescinded evacuation orders and announced that Palestinian civilians could return to their homes in an area of ​​central Gaza, a day after the U.S. government said officials had urged Israel to rescind evacuation orders it no longer deems necessary. An Israeli military spokesman, Nadav Shoshani, told NPR that the area had been declared safe again after operations to thwart militant rocket fire and recover an Israeli hostage and the body of a soldier.

The August 28 cable from the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, marked sensitive but unclassified and addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the State Department, contained an assessment by U.S. Agency for International Development officials of the effects of Israel's evacuation orders on the Palestinian population.

The document recommends several mitigation measures, including that the IDF rescind expired evacuation orders to allow greater freedom of movement, suspend operations at least 48 hours after evacuation orders are issued to allow populations to move safely, and protect humanitarian sites, ensuring continued accessibility.

The United States is concerned that the Israeli military's increased evacuation orders in Gaza over the past month have led to repeated displacement of Palestinians and reduced the size of Israel's designated humanitarian zone for civilians, the document said.

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NPR.

USAID said in a statement to NPR that while the agency does not comment on internal documents, “the humanitarian conditions in Gaza are incredibly dire and the U.S. government is working tirelessly to increase assistance to the most vulnerable.”

The Israeli military has issued at least 20 evacuation orders in Gaza since July 22, a significantly faster pace than the previous ten months of Israel’s ground offensive, the memo said. Many of the evacuation orders have targeted so-called humanitarian areas, pushing civilians into smaller and smaller areas deemed safe by the military. The U.N. estimates that more than 88 percent of Gaza is now under evacuation orders.

Continued evacuation orders could weaken remaining humanitarian operations in the enclave and, therefore, continued assistance to the 2.1 million people in desperate need, the document said.

Thousands of displaced Palestinians on their way to find a place to stay after Israeli authorities ordered them to evacuate an area once declared a safe humanitarian zone, in the eastern part of Khan Younis, Gaza, on July 23. Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images

. Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images

The long-problematic humanitarian zones, according to the document, are small swaths of territory that the Israeli military says will allow Palestinians to safely shelter from airstrikes and receive humanitarian aid. But Palestinians say the spaces are overcrowded and unsanitary, with little access to clean water or toilets. Garbage accumulates in the areas, breeding disease. At the same time, aid groups say it has become nearly impossible to deliver aid to the areas.

The document also states that repeated and often hasty evacuation orders caused harm to civilians. The Israeli military issued evacuation orders in dangerous conditions and in rapid succession and without prior notice before operations began, which increased protection risks, the document says. It adds that the hostilities posed significant protection risks to those who complied with evacuation orders.

NPR independently interviewed several civilians in Gaza who described Israeli airstrikes hitting their area just hours after they were ordered to evacuate, forcing them to flee in haste and dangerous conditions.

While these evacuation orders are meant to protect civilians, they are actually having the opposite effect, the UN humanitarian coordinator, Muhannad Hadi, said last week. They are forcing families to flee again, often under fire and with the few belongings they can carry, into an increasingly constricted, overcrowded, polluted and devoid of services.

The United States, Qatar and Egypt are trying to bring Israel and Hamas closer to a ceasefire deal that would end the war in Gaza. As negotiations continued this week, mediators said they had presented a proposal that bridges the two sides' differences. Israel and Hamas have yet to reach an agreement.

According to Gaza health officials, more than 40,000 Palestinians, including many women and children, have been killed by Israeli forces during the war. The war was triggered by an attack by Hamas militants on Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos