Israel orders evacuation in northern Gaza Strip

July 13, 2014 In leaflets dropped by Israel this morning in northern Gaza Strip, civilians were told to leave "for their own safety" by 12:00 today, (0900 ). The leaflets also said the planned Israeli military operation in the area would be brief.

As part of the attacks in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military reported commando soldiers have destroyed a launching site in the northern part of the Strip early today. An Israeli Military spokesperson said four soldiers were slightly injured in the operation. This is the first ground operation the Israeli military conducted inside Gaza since the escalation began.

Yesterday, all fifteen members of the UN Security Council called on both sides to return to the understandings reached in the November 2012 ceasefire agreement. Also yesterday, Israeli operations in Gaza expanded to include targeting Hamas-related civilian institutions.