In the following months, densely populated areas like Rafah and Khan Younis were almost entirely emptied of residents through deliberate efforts, enabling IDF divisions to maneuver more easily while reducing risks to both combatants and civilians. However, this practice has raised moral and legal challenges.

Now, as the anticipated takeover of Gaza City approaches, Southern Command faces its next challenge. In the coming days, one of the largest population relocation operations of the war is expected to begin, as a prelude to the ground incursion into Gaza City. Approximately one million people will be required to evacuate the city and move south beyond the Netzarim Corridor, which will serve as the boundary north of which combat will take place.

A message delivered by artillery

The complex evacuation operation is managed by Southern Command's Population Relocation Unit, whose existence is revealed here for the first time. The unit is responsible for mapping the population, gathering intelligence on it, and coordinating actions to facilitate its movement – distributing leaflets, sending text messages, and, ultimately, firing artillery shells, which send the clearest message to residents that they must evacuate.

"In the current war, the unit was already prepared for micro-level management of the operation," said Brig. Gen. (res.) Erez Weiner, who served during the war as the commander of the operational planning team in Southern Command. "This includes the process of notifications, who issues them, when, and how, as well as monitoring and verifying that there is a response on the other side and that the population is actually moving," Weiner said.

According to UN data, about 82% of Gaza's residents lived before the war in areas the IDF designated as "evacuation zones." Providing aid to these millions of displaced people is an integral part of the population relocation principle. "To convince them to move, you need to use not only a stick but also a carrot," a former military source said.

Until now, Israel has insisted that the "carrot" – humanitarian aid to Gaza – be provided and managed by the UN and international organizations, such as the American GHF foundation. However, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) has been working in recent days to support the humanitarian infrastructure designed to absorb the hundreds of thousands of new evacuees from Gaza. "You cannot relocate people without ensuring that the humanitarian infrastructure – food, water, medical care, sanitation – meets the requirements of international law," a knowledgeable source said.

By late July, COGAT, under the guidance of the cabinet, approved an Emirati initiative to connect a water pipeline from a desalination plant in Egypt to the humanitarian zone in al-Mawasi. This week, Israel also approved, for the first time since the March 2025 ceasefire, the entry of tents and shelter equipment into Gaza. "You can't start moving a population and then say, 'Oops, there aren't enough tents,'" the same source said. "That's why Israel is already preparing the infrastructure for the evacuation."

The full article will appear in the weekend edition.

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Thailand's Health Ministry confirmed the massive evacuation numbers as combat operations intensified throughout Friday, with civilians on both sides of the international boundary scrambling for safety while explosions and automatic weapons fire echoed across the borderlands. Officials from The New York Times reported that at least 15 fatalities have been documented on the Thai side since hostilities commenced Thursday, while Cambodian authorities have confirmed at least one death within their territory as families continue fleeing the escalating violence.

This 60 second video will let you know exactly what's going on between Cambodia and Thailand and why they are at War

Must watch pic.twitter.com/cPnew4yd0h

— Culture War Report (@CultureWar2020) July 24, 2025

 The disputed frontier area between Oddar Meanchey Province in Cambodia and Surin Province in Thailand became the epicenter of the bloodiest military engagement between the two nations since 2011, with artillery strikes and small arms fire creating a continuous barrage that forced mass population movements. The New York Times documented scenes of desperate families loading possessions onto farm vehicles as explosions rang out around them, while civilians sought shelter wherever possible as the conflict showed no signs of immediate resolution.

Combat operations continued unabated on Friday as both nations deployed heavy weapons along the contested boundary, creating a humanitarian emergency that has displaced over 100,000 people within 48 hours. Officials familiar with the situation told The New York Times that gunshots and artillery fire persisted throughout the day, preventing aid organizations from reaching affected populations and trapping thousands of civilians in active combat zones.

The current confrontation represents the deadliest military engagement between Cambodia and Thailand in at least 14 years, surpassing previous border incidents in both scale and intensity. The New York Times reported that the fighting has created the largest refugee crisis in the region since the last major border conflict, with entire communities abandoning their homes as military forces from both nations continue exchanging fire across the disputed territory.

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A powerful typhoon slammed into the southeastern Philippines Thursday and was blowing across island provinces where nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated from high-risk areas that could be devastated by flash floods, landslides and tidal surges, officials said.

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There were no immediate reports of casualties or major damage but military and coast guard rescue personnel were helping residents stranded by fast-rising waters. Disaster-response officials said about 10,000 villages lie in the projected path of the typhoon, which has a 400-kilometer (248-mile)-wide rain band and is one of the strongest to hit the country this year.

The Philippine coast guard said it has grounded all vessels, stranding nearly 4,000 passengers and workers in dozens of southern and central ports. Several mostly domestic flights have been canceled and schools and workplaces were shut in the most vulnerable areas.

Crowding in evacuation centers was complicating efforts to keep people safely distanced after authorities detected the country's first infections caused by the Omicron coronavirus variant. Vaccinations were also halted in provinces likely to experience stormy weather.

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A Ukrainian aircraft that was in Afghanistan to help evacuate personnel from the country was hijacked on Sunday by "unidentified gunmen" and flown to Iran, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kulemba Dmytro confirmed Tuesday, according to a report by the Russian news agency TASS.

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Iran has denied the report.

Ukraine Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Yenin said that "Rather than evacuating Ukrainian citizens, the plane flew to Iran carrying an unknown number of people."

Yenin added that the people who had hijacked the plane were armed and said that the fate of the aircraft was unknown.

"On Sunday, our plane was hijacked. On Tuesday, a plane was nearly stolen from us. It flew to Iran with an unidentified group of passengers on deck, rather than Ukrainians. Our other three attempts to evacuate Ukrainians [from Afghanistan] also failed because our people could not get into the airport, Yenin was quoted as saying.

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Residents of Beit Shemesh and Mashhad who were ordered to evacuate were allowed to return home.

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Earlier Monday, 10 teams of firefighters from the Beit Shemesh fire station, as well as firefighting aircraft, were battling a wildfire that broke out on Hagefen Street in the city. Beit Shemesh residents living to the east of Hagolan Street were instructed to close their windows and remain indoors.

בית שמש - 5 צוותי כיבוי והצלה מתחנת בית שמש פועלים בשריפת חורש טבעי ברחוב הגפן בעיר. לוחמי האש נאבקים בחזית האש על מנות לעצור את התפשטותה. המשטרה ביצעה פינוי תושבים מקו בתים ראשון.
קרדיט: סטורי בית שמש pic.twitter.com/aNlNDUuCtb

— כבאות והצלה לישראל (@102_IL) August 26, 2019

Footage of the Beit Shemesh fire, courtesy of the Israel Fire and Rescue Services via Twitter

Two other major wildfires – one at Moshav Mata in the Jerusalem hills and the second in Mashhad, northeast of Nazareth – also broke out on Monday.

Firefighters from all over Israel were scrambled to the scene of the Moshav Mata fire, while eight firefighting teams and two aircraft were battling the Mashhad fire. Occupants of Mashhad living closest to the fire line were temporarily evacuated, but by 5:30 p.m. were allowed to return to their homes.

No injuries were reported as a result of any of the fires.

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