Israel orders Gazans to evacuate southwards

Over 250,000 reportedly fled the Gaza City
30 buildings destroyed 
Qatar PM urges world to 'stop using double standards' 
Netanyahu hosts Rubio at Western Wall ahead of talks
Israeli forces destroyed at least 30 residential buildings in Gaza City and forced thousands of people from their homes to move south, Palestinian officials said, as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived yesterday to discuss the future of the conflict.

According to an army post on X, more than 250,000 people have reportedly fled the city. The military is urging remaining residents to travel via al-Rashid Street towards al-Mawasi or camps in central Gaza.

However, a journalist said, "Despite intense bombardment in Gaza City, many residents have stayed put -- or returned after seeking shelter elsewhere -- because many of Israel's designated evacuation zones are desperately overcrowded and under-resourced, including lacking proper water access."

The United Nations estimates from late August indicated approximately one million Palestinians were living in and around Gaza's largest urban centre, where famine conditions are taking hold after months of deteriorating circumstances, reports Al Jazeera online.

The UN and the international community have called on Israel to abandon its plans to capture the city, warning that such an assault could worsen the humanitarian crisis.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani yesterday urged the international community to "stop using double standards" and punish Israel for what he described as its "crimes".

He was speaking at a preparatory meeting on the eve of an emergency summit of Arab and Islamic leaders organised by Qatar after Israel carried out an unprecedented air strike on Hamas leaders in Doha.

"The time has come for the international community to stop using double standards and to punish Israel for all the crimes it has committed, and Israel needs to know that the ongoing war of extermination that our brotherly Palestinian people is being subjected to, and whose aim is to expel them from their land, will not work," the prime minister said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that the alliance with the United States has never been stronger as he joined Rubio in praying at one of Judaism's holiest sites.