The Hamdan family, consisting of about ten people from three generations, fled their home at midnight after the Israeli army ordered the evacuation of Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip.

They found shelter with relatives in a building located to the north, within the safe zone declared by Israel. However, hours after their arrival, an Israeli airstrike struck the building where they were staying in the town of Deir al-Balah on Tuesday afternoon, resulting in the deaths of nine family members and three others.

In total, among the dead were five children and three women, according to hospital records and one surviving relative.

The order issued by Israel on Monday for people to leave the eastern half of Khan Younis — the second-largest city in the area — led to a third mass exodus of Palestinians in just a few months, exacerbating the confusion, chaos, and misery of the residents as they scramble once again to find safety.

About 250,000 people live in the area covered by the order, according to the United Nations. Many of them had just returned to their homes there after fleeing the Israeli incursion into Khan Younis earlier this year — or had just taken refuge there after escaping the Israeli attack on the city of Rafah to the south.

The order also triggered a frantic exodus from the European General Hospital, the second-largest hospital in Gaza, located in the evacuation area. The facility was closed after staff and more than 200 patients were evacuated overnight on Tuesday, along with thousands of displaced people who sought refuge in the hospital grounds, according to staff and the International Committee of the Red Cross, which had a medical team there.

Hisham Mahna, the spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza, stated that some families dragged patients in hospital beds through the streets for distances of up to 10 kilometers (six miles) to reach safety.

Nurse Mohamed Younis said ambulances transported others elsewhere while staff moved valuable equipment, including X-ray machines, ultrasound devices, and endoscopes, which have now become extremely rare.

Hours after the evacuation order, the Israeli army stated that the hospital was not included in this order. But staff said they feared a repetition of previous Israeli airstrikes on other hospitals in Gaza.

Mahna said, "Many hospitals have turned into rubble and have become battlefields or graves."

Israel has raided hospitals, claiming that Hamas uses them for military purposes, a claim denied by medical officials in Gaza.

On Tuesday, vehicles laden with personal belongings left East Khan Younis, but the exact number of those fleeing was not immediately known. This new mass migration comes in addition to the million people who fled Rafah since May, as well as tens of thousands who were displaced last week due to the new Israeli attack on the Shujaiya area, north of the Gaza Strip.

Munir Hamza, a father of three, fled his home in eastern Khan Younis on Monday night for the second time, stating, "We left everything behind. We are tired of moving and being displaced… it is unbearable."

No Safe Place

Asma Salim, a relative living in the building that the Hamdan family sought refuge in, mentioned that up to 15 members of the Hamdan family fled their home in Khan Younis and arrived late on Monday at their extended family's building in Deir al-Balah.

The building is located within the expanded humanitarian area declared by the Israeli army when it began its attack on Rafah in May, urging Palestinians to evacuate there in search of safety.

The strike occurred around three in the afternoon on Tuesday, and a video from the Associated Press shows an entire floor of the building destroyed. Salem told the Associated Press, "Almost everyone inside has been martyred, with only two or three surviving."

According to a list of the deceased published at the nearby Martyrs of Al-Aqsa Hospital, among the dead were the head of the family, dermatologist Hossam Hamdan, 62, as well as his wife, their adult son, and daughter. Four of their grandchildren, aged three to five years, and a mother of two were also killed. Additionally, a man and his five-year-old son, who lived in the building, and a man on the street outside were killed in the airstrike, injuring 10 others, including several children.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the strike.

Journey from Khan Younis

The evacuation order issued on Monday indicates the possibility of a new ground attack on Khan Younis, despite no immediate signs of one occurring. Israeli forces had previously launched a months-long attack there earlier this year, clashing with Hamas fighters and leaving large areas of the southern city destroyed or severely damaged.

Israel has repeatedly returned to parts of the Gaza Strip that it previously invaded to eliminate Hamas members whom it says have regrouped, indicating that Hamas's capabilities persist even after nearly nine months of war in Gaza.

The Israeli campaign has resulted in the deaths of more than 37,900 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Israel launched its campaign following the Hamas attack on October 7, which killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel and took around 250 others hostage.

On Tuesday, the Israeli army stated that it estimates about 1.8 million Palestinians are now in the humanitarian area it declared, which covers an area of about 14 kilometers (8.6 miles) along the Gaza coastline on the Mediterranean Sea, while the United Nations and humanitarian groups say most of this area is now covered by camps lacking health facilities and medical services, with limited access to aid, as families live amid mountains of garbage and contaminated water from sewage.

The amount of food and other supplies entering Gaza has decreased since the attack on Rafah began, with the United Nations confirming that fighting, Israeli military restrictions, and general chaos — including looting of trucks — make it nearly impossible for trucks loaded with goods that Israel has allowed to enter to deliver. As a result, goods remain piled up without being collected for transport inside Gaza at the main Karam Abu Salem crossing, near Rafah.

The Norwegian Refugee Council stated last week that it conducted a survey of about 1,100 families who fled Rafah, with 83 percent reporting they had no food, and more than half stating they lacked access to safe drinking water.

On Tuesday, more fleeing families from Khan Younis attempted to find a place for themselves in the area, with Umm Abdul Rahman stating that she and her family, consisting of four children – the youngest being three years old – walked for hours at night to reach the area but found no place to stay.

She added, "There is no place for anyone," "We are waiting, and we have nothing to do but wait."

Nuha Al-Banna stated that she has been displaced four times since fleeing from the city of Gaza in the north at the beginning of the war.

"We have been humiliated," "There is no proper food, no proper water, no proper bathrooms, no proper place to sleep, just fear, fear, fear. There is no safety. No safety at home, no safety in the tents."