Residents of north and east Gaza refuse to evacuate

Palestinians living in northern and eastern areas of the Gaza Strip have refused to evacuate their homes after the Israeli army warned them that they planned to “carpet bomb” the area, reports have said.

Israeli news website Yedioth Ahronoth said that by 10am this morning, residents of the Shuja’iyya and Al-Zaytouna refused to evacuate their homes, despite the incessant shelling of Israeli aircrafts.

Approximately 100,000 Palestinians live in the north and east of the Gaza Strip, of whom only 20,000 have heeded the warnings and moved away, Yedioth Ahronoth said.

Palestinian sources in the Gaza Strip said the Israeli army made ​​contact with a hospital and asked for it to be evacuated. The hospital’s director responded by saying that it is not possible to evacuate the building quickly.

In response, Hamas requested the hospital not be evacuated and sent its members to form human shields around it. The Israeli army did, however, target the hospital overnight causing significant damage to the infrastructure.