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Israel’s new Gaza evacuation zones leave Palestinians few places to go
Aid agencies are warning that Palestinian civilians are running out of places to flee to, after the Israeli military first ordered tens of thousands to evacuate part of the main city in the south ahead of an assault by tanks and troops.
A map posted on social media on Monday told people in northern and central Khan Younis to leave immediately to “preserve your safety and security”. Arrows directed them to move to three already overcrowded areas to the south and west.
On Tuesday however, the Israeli military said its forces had already entered the city and it was now too dangerous to leave.
“Don’t get out. Going out is dangerous. You have been warned,” new leaflets said, warning people to stay inside designated shelters and hospitals.
The evacuation of specific areas marked on online maps is part of a new approach the military says it is taking to avoid civilian casualties in its eight-week war with Hamas, following heavy pressure from the United States.
But there is concern that the strategy is too complicated, too dependent on technology, and too likely to cause panic to be a workable solution.
BBC Gaza correspondent Rushdi Abu Alouf, who is currently in Istanbul, said he had spoken to relatives and other people in the affected areas who were not aware of the IDF’s map or could not see it because of patchy internet access and no regular supply of electricity.
“This is a joke, not a map, because we don’t know where to go,” a displaced person who was sheltering in Khan Younis told him. There is also no guarantee they will be safe from bombardment if they flee.
The main Palestinian telecommunications firm meanwhile said that all phone and internet services were cut once again.
Before a temporary truce collapsed last Friday, the Israeli ground operation was focused on the north of Gaza.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a blanket order to all 1.1 million people living there to move south of the Wadi Gaza river for their own safety. Hundreds of thousands heeded the call as Israeli troops penetrated deep into Gaza City – with many of them eventually ending up in Khan Younis.
The IDF also repeatedly urged civilians across Gaza to move to al-Mawasi, a thin strip of territory along the Mediterranean coast which officials described as a “humanitarian zone”.
During a visit to Israel on Thursday while the fighting was paused, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had told Israeli leaders that they had to “put in place humanitarian civilian protection plans that minimize further casualties of innocent Palestinians”. These included “clearly and precisely designating areas and places in southern and central Gaza where they can be safe and out of the line of fire”, he added.
The IDF’s response was to publish on its Arabic-language website on Friday an ‘Evacuation Zone Map’ that divided Gaza into more than 600 numbered blocks, ranging in size from about 0.03 to 25 sq km (0.001 to 9.6 sq miles).
Jets also dropped leaflets with QR codes, allowing people with a working smartphone and an internet connection to access the map – and also asking them to share their location.

Asked about this approach on Monday, US state department spokesman Matthew Miller said it had “seen improvements”. “We have seen them evacuate specific neighbourhoods, rather than entire areas, so the number of displaced persons will hopefully be lower in southern Gaza than it was in the north,” he added.
However the IDF’s order for civilians to move from Khan Younis to Rafah was condemned by the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Unrwa, which runs the biggest humanitarian operation in Gaza and has 958,000 displaced people sheltering at 99 facilities in the south.
“The order created panic, fear and anxiety,” warned Philippe Lazzarini on Monday evening. “At least an additional 60,000 people were forced to move to already overcrowded Unrwa shelters, with more asking to be sheltered.” “The evacuation order pushes people to concentrate into what is less than one-third of the Gaza Strip,” he added.
Lazzarini also stressed that “no place is safe in Gaza, whether in the south, or the south-west, whether in Rafah or in any unilaterally called ‘safe zone'”.
Unicef spokesman James Elder, who was recently in Gaza, told the BBC on Tuesday that the idea of a “safe zone” was a “dangerous false narrative”. He said that under international law Israel had to ensure places of evacuation had conditions for people to survive.
In an apparent reference to al-Mawasi, he added: “These are tiny patches of barren land. They have no water, no facilities, no shelter from the cold, no sanitation.”
A senior adviser to Israel’s prime minister rejected such criticism in a BBC interview on Monday.
“I don’t believe that nowhere is safe,” Mark Regev said. “We’ve designated safer zones for people to go to. If you believe the Hamas propaganda, we’re just hitting innocent buildings, right? But if we’re hitting a structure, it’s because there’s Hamas either in or under the structure.”
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says 70% of the almost 15,900 people killed there since the start of the conflict have been women and children.
Israel launched a military campaign in response to a cross-border attack by Hamas gunmen on 7 October, in which at least 1,200 people – including many women and children – were killed and about 240 others taken hostage.

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Heat Index at Caution Level in the Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern and Southern provinces and in Monaragala district.
Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre
at 3.30 p.m. on 20 April 2026, valid for 21 April 2026
The Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Northern, North-central, North-western, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Eastern and Southern provinces and in Monaragala district.
The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.

Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.
ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.
Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.
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Dasun Shanaka handed one-year PSL ban
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Nahid, Tanzid help Bangladesh level New Zealand series
Nahid Rana’s five-wicket haul followed by Tanzid Hasan’s fiery half-century got Bangladesh a six-wicket win against New Zealand. The home side leveled the ODI series, setting up the decider in Chattogram on Thursday.
It was a much-needed contribution from the Bangladesh batters, who were criticised for losing the first game by 26 runs. This time, the bowlers blew a hole through New Zealand’s top and middle orders, with Rana taking 5 for 32, his second five-for in ODIs, before the batters got them home in 35.3 overs.
Bangladesh’s chase, however, began with uncertainty once again. Nathan Smith burst through Saif Hassan with an excellent inswinger in the first over. Soumya Sarkar, drafted into the playing XI to replace Afif Hossain, fell after making eight runs. He struck Will O’Rourke for a six but New Zealand captain Tom Latham kept the three slips as he urged O’Rourke to keep bowling bouncers.
Soumya fell into the trap, when his attempted glide with a vertical bat, only reached Dean Foxcroft at third slip. Tanzid retaliated almost immediately, hitting Smith for two sixes in the fifth over. The first was over long-on, the next over midwicket with a lovely flick.
Tanzid reached his fifty with his third six, slog sweeping Foxcroft over midwicket in the 15th over. He took just 33 balls to reach his sixth half-century in ODIs.
Najimul Hossain Shanto, who made a golden duck in the first game, was more of his dominant self, complementing Tanzid’s efforts in their third-wicket partnership. Shanto struck Foxcroft’s half-tracker for six in the 17th over, before launching Jayden Lennox over long-off for a similar result.
Tanzid was racing towards a big score, hammering Lennox for his fourth six in the 23rd over. But the left-arm spinner had the last laugh the very next ball as Tanzid top-edged a hoick across the line for Henry Nicholls to take a steepling catch tracking back at cover. It ended a 120-run third wicket stand.
Litton Das, playing his 100th ODI, couldn’t add much to the total, when Lennox had him caught off a slog in his next over. Shanto hobbled off the field after completing his fifty due to cramps.
Towhid Hridoy and Mehidy Hasan Miraz added 32 to complete the chase. Hridoy made an unbeaten 30 off 31 balls with five fours, while Mehidy struck the winning run in the 36th over.
Rana had earlier dominated the New Zealand batting line-up whenever captain Mehidy handed him the ball. He took the first two wickets: Henry Nicholls, New Zealand’s top scorer from the first game, trapped lbw, before a 146kph bouncer got Will Young. Rana got the ball to rear into the No 3 batter, who could only guide it to gully where Soumya took an easy catch.
Nick Kelly found Muhammad Abbas as a willing ally, as the pair rebuild the New Zealand innings in the middle overs. Abbas broke the boundary drought of 33 balls, when he edged Soumya to deep third in the 20th over. Kelly struck another bookended the over with another four before driving Mehidy Hasan Miraz through cover in the following over.
Kelly then laid into Taskin Ahmed, driving him down the ground and clipping him over midwicket among his three fours in the 25th over. Kelly soon reached his fifty in the 27th over, before Rana, brought back into the attack, removed Abbas. Wicketkeeper Litton ran quite a distance towards fine-leg, where he dived to complete a brilliant catch. Litton had earlier taken a fine tumbling catch to remove Tom Latham, the New Zealand captain, off Soumya’s bowling
Kelly started to apply himself as a more aggressive batter. He moved a lot around the crease, even getting hit on his visor when he tried to hook Shoriful Islam’s length ball in the 35th over. He fell to the same bowler in his next over, caught at midwicket for 83.
Bangladesh’s fielders contributed to their good showing. Towhid Hridoy took three catches including a superb effort at long-on to end the New Zealand innings.
Rana added two more to his kitty in the death overs, removing Dean Foxcroft for 15, before yorking Jayden Lennox for a duck. Rana’s five wickets apart, Shoriful Islam took two wickets while Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed and Soumya took a wicket each.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 199 for 4 in 35.3 overs (Tanzid Hasan 76, Najmul Hossain Shanto 50 retd, Towhid Hridoy 30*; Jayden Lennox 2-36) beat New Zealand 198 in 48.4 overs (Nick Kelly 83; Nahid Rana 5-32, Shoriful Islam 2-32) by six wickets
[Cricinfo]
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