GAZA - The Israeli army on Saturday ordered further evacuation of Palestinian residents in eastern Rafah, citing upcoming military operations targeting Hamas militants in those areas.

"The residents of the camps of Shaboura and the Al-Adari, Al-Jeneina, and Khirbet Al-Adas neighborhoods in Blocks 6-9, 17, 25-27, and 31 must leave their houses immediately," Avichai Adraee, spokesperson of the Israeli army, said in a press statement.

Adraea claimed that Hamas militants used the mentioned areas for military activities against the Israeli people, which forced the army to expand its military operations there to eliminate the fighters of Hamas.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that the new evacuation order by the Israeli army on Saturday has affected some 300,000 people in the Gaza Strip

Adraee told the residents to head to al-Mawasi, a zone between the west of Rafah and Khan Younis.

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Palestinian security sources said the evacuation means that the Israeli army "is gradually implementing its plan of evacuating the residents to prepare for a large-scale military operation and invasion in the city."

Rafah, with more than 1 million displaced Palestinians seeking refuge from intensive Israeli strikes on Gaza elsewhere, has been facing a dire humanitarian crisis due to the lack of basic necessities, including water, food, electricity, and medical treatment.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that the new evacuation order by the Israeli army on Saturday has affected some 300,000 people in the Gaza Strip.

"We're extremely concerned these evacuation orders have come both towards central Rafah and Jabalia in northern Gaza," the agency said on social media platform X, mentioning that around 150,000 people have fled Rafah so far since Monday in search of safety, while there is no safe place in the enclave.

The UNRWA noted that "all decisions have a real impact on people here on the ground, especially children," emphasizing the urgent need for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the territory has risen to 34,971, according to the Hamas-run health authorities on Saturday

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks on the territory has risen to 34,971, according to the Hamas-run health authorities on Saturday.

During the past 24 hours, the Israeli army killed 28 Palestinians and wounded 69 others in the coastal enclave, bringing the total death toll to 34,971 and injuries to 78,641 since the current conflict broke out on Oct 7, 2023, according to a statement.

On Friday, at least 31 people were killed and others injured by Israeli bombardment in various areas of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian official news agency WAFA reported.

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Israeli fighter jets targeted several areas in the central Gaza Strip, killing at least 24 persons, the news agency added. Seven others were killed after Israeli aircraft targeted dozens of homes in Jabalia, north of the Strip.

Israel has ramped up strikes on Rafah after the talks on the Israel-Hamas truce held in Egypt's Cairo collapsed on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced on Saturday the death of an Israeli detainee in its custody in the Gaza Strip.

The brigades said in a statement that 51-year-old Nadav Boblabil, holding British nationality, finally succumbed to injuries sustained after the Israeli aircraft targeted his place of detention over a month ago.

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The statement attributed Boblabil's death to his deteriorating health condition due to hospitals in the strip being destroyed by the "enemy" and rendered non-operational.

The statement did not provide further details.

This is the second hostage death incident announced by the brigades this week. On Tuesday, Al-Qassam Brigades announced the death of an elderly Israeli hostage in Gaza, attributing it to the lack of intensive medical care caused by the destruction of hospitals in the enclave.