GAZA – The Israeli military has expanded its evacuation order to the whole of Gaza City after sending tens of thousands of Palestinians fleeing from several of the city’s neighborhoods earlier this week. It has also issued a notice saying it will be suspending inspections along two roads in Gaza City to allow civilians to reach humanitarian zones more easily and quickly as the city “will remain a dangerous combat zone.”

“We announce to you that Tariq Bin Ziyad and Omar Al-Mukhtar Streets are considered safe passages to cross west to Al-Rashid (Al-Bahr) Street and from there south. Al-Wahda and Khalil Al-Wazir streets are considered safe passages to cross east to the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood and the city roundabout, and from there to Salah Al-Din Street to the south,” an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) flier dropped on the city says.

Gaza City experienced shelling overnight. A local journalist told CNN the building he was sheltering in has been struck and he is now forced to move with his family once more. Gaza’s Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal told CNN he was aware of dozens of deaths in the industrial zone, east of Gaza City, and the financial hub in the center. Bassal added that several Palestinians are besieged in the Jordanian hospital and at Al-Aqsa University in the city, as the situation remains dangerous. “Today, suddenly, all bakeries in Gaza are completely closed. It seems that there are instructions for them to do so, or that they fall in the red zone,” he added. (CNN)…[+]