Forensic Architecture has documented a pattern of Israeli attacks on areas into which they have previously instructed civilians in Gaza to evacuate. Our research confirms that the Israeli military carried out multiple attacks in areas towards which civilians had been directed, either on the same day as the evacuation order, or on the day after.
On the morning of 23 Mar 2025, the Israeli military issued an evacuation order for Tel al-Sultan neighbourhood of Rafah, directing civilians to move northeast. That evening, there was an airstrike northeast of Tel al-Sultan, in Khan Younis, that hit the Nasser Medical Complex, the largest hospital in the area.
On the morning of 7 Apr 2025, the Israeli military issued an evacuation order to Deir al-Balah, directing civilians to move southwest. Later that day, there was an attack on a residential building southwest of Deir al-Balah. The following day, there were two attacks in areas southwest of Deir al-Balah.
On 12 Apr 2025, the Israeli military issued an evacuation order to neighbourhoods in Nuseirat, directing civilians to move towards the south. The following day, there was an airstrike on a municipality building south of Nuseirat, in Deir al-Balah.
On 25 Apr 2025, the Israeli military issued an evacuation order to neighbourhoods in the east of Gaza City, directing civilians to move west, towards an area that had previously been issued evacuation orders on 26 Mar and 3 Apr. The following day, there was an attack on a residential building to the west of the neighbourhoods told to evacuate, in al-Sabra.
This map visualises all 34 evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military to areas in Gaza since the dissolution of the ceasefire on 18 Mar 2025, until 3 Jun 2025. These orders direct civilians from evacuation zones to undefined areas, which often later come under attack by the Israeli military. These orders indicate a general direction, without demarcating a specific area for relocation, whereas orders prior to the ceasefire demarcated specific areas for civilians to relocate to, such as the humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi.
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