JERUSALEM >> Israel warned residents of the central Gaza Strip to evacuate today, the first evacuation order in the enclave in weeks and an indication that Israeli operations against Hamas in the area would be ramped up even as the Israeli military shifts its focus to fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The order, issued around 11 a.m., affected scattered parts of the Nuseirat and Bureij neighborhoods and threw families in the area into a state of panic.

Raja and her sisters were preparing a breakfast of bread, olive oil and za’atar at their home in the central Gaza Strip when they heard of the order. They were trying to determine whether their home was included in the complicated maps issued by the Israeli military.

“I was completely confused,” said Raja, 30, a resident of the Nuseirat neighborhood, who declined to disclose her full name for fear of retribution for speaking publicly about her ordeal.

As she tried to clarify where her home fell on the map, she considered what she would need to do to relocate her family. “I was thinking of one million things: How will I evacuate my sisters? What things should we take with us? Will we be lucky enough to find transportation?” she said.

The experience of Raja and her sisters has played out for many other Palestinians since the start of the war. But the evacuation orders today were the first the military had issued for Gaza in weeks, according to a review of the military’s announcements posted online.

Raja has been responsible for her five sisters since her parents left Gaza months ago for the United Arab Emirates, where her father was receiving treatment for bone cancer until he passed away.

In a post on the social platform X, Avichai Adraee, the Arabic-language spokesperson for the Israeli military, told residents of the impacted areas that Hamas was “continuing its terrorist activities in your region” and that Israeli forces will act with “great force against these elements.”

“For your safety, evacuate these areas immediately,” he said.

Some Palestinians previously told The New York Times in interviews that Hamas has put Palestinians in Gaza in Israel’s crosshairs by launching attacks from neighborhoods, running tunnels under apartment buildings and hiding hostages in city centers.

Over the past couple days, Israel has stepped up its bombardment of Nuseirat, Raja said.

About an hour after hearing the evacuation order, Raja was able to conclude — with the help of neighbors and colleagues — that her home was not in the affected zone but nearby it, hundreds of meters away.

With all the challenges of moving to another place, she decided they would stay at home despite the risks.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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