Analysis reveals Israel targeted civilian-populated areas in Gaza, CNN investigation finds
Israel struck areas in Gaza where it had instructed civilians to evacuate, according to CNN analysis The conflicting messaging regarding safe zones adds to the confusion surrounding the situation
Israel's military targeted three sites in Gaza, where civilians were urged to evacuate following the collapse of a brief truce between Israel and Hamas this month, according to an analysis by CNN.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released a map of Gaza on December 1, divided into 623 numbered blocks, marking areas where military strikes were imminent and directing civilians to flee. The map was distributed online through a QR code printed on leaflets dropped over the area.
Residents of Gaza are urged to carefully review and follow the instructions provided by the IDF through various media outlets in order to safeguard their security, lives, and the lives of their families. This map is a reminder of the brief attempt in the 1970s to reconstruct Gaza during the initial years of Israel's occupation of the coastal strip.
A cloud of smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Rafah, located in the southern Gaza Strip, on October 16, 2023. The death toll resulting from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has climbed to approximately 2,750, in the wake of Hamas's recent deadly assault on southern Israel, as reported by the Gaza health ministry on October 16. In addition, an estimated 9,700 individuals have sustained injuries due to Israel's ongoing intensive air campaign targeting sites within the Palestinian coastal enclave, as stated by the Hamas-controlled ministry. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)
Said Khatib/AFP/Getty Images
They followed evacuation orders. An Israeli airstrike killed them the next day.
The analysis by CNN reveals that IDF instructions have occasionally been unclear and ambiguous. Despite regular updates urging citizens to evacuate certain areas labeled in orange and move to other designated locations, the messaging has been inconsistent. Concerns have been raised about Palestinians' ability to access this information due to power and telecommunication outages. Through the use of videos, images, satellite imagery, and local news reports, CNN has confirmed three Israeli strikes on areas where citizens were instructed to flee.
The IDF has repeatedly urged civilians to temporarily evacuate from areas of intense fighting in order to minimize the risk posed by remaining in these areas. Additionally, they stated that they targeted areas identified in the report based on intelligence indicating that these places were safehouses for commanders of the Rafah Brigade of the Hamas terror organization.
"The IDF continues to operate against Hamas infrastructure and terrorists wherever they are located in the Gaza Strip," the statement continued.
Strikes in areas civilians directed to
On December 2, the IDFs Arab media spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, used social media to share evacuation orders for citizens in parts of the Gaza Strip that had been designated a "safe zone" by the IDF during the first month and a half of the war, prior to the truce.
Several images of the same location were posted, each highlighting different areas. The map showed orange highlights in the north and east of the city of Khan Younis, with arrows directing residents to evacuate from these areas to Al-Mawasi - a 5.22 square mile coastal strip labeled as a safe zone by the IDF - or to Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.
Aid organizations have expressed worries about the Al-Mawasi "humanitarian zone," with the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) describing it as "a disaster waiting to happen" because of overcrowded conditions and inadequate infrastructure and services.
At the same time, reports indicate that airstrikes are still targeting Rafah.
Three days after Adraees' post, CNN discovered that three Israeli strikes had targeted locations in Rafah, despite the IDF advising Gazans to evacuate to Rafah.
An attack occurred in Rafah's El-Geneina neighborhood on the afternoon of December 3. Video footage captured moments after the strike shows a large plume of smoke rising from a location near Saddam Street in Rafah.
Images and videos posted on social media, tagged with the location of the plume, depict a significant crater and numerous buildings that have sustained damage or been completely destroyed.
According to reports from local media, the attack on the residence of the al-Bawab family resulted in the deaths of at least 17 individuals and left dozens more injured.
That evening, the Al-Jazzar family's residence in the Al-Tanour area of Rafah was struck by another airstrike. Videos taken after the assault depict people frantically scouring the debris for survivors. One clip features a man being rescued by Civil Defense teams, his legs pinned under the rubble.
The Palestinian Civil Defense was present at the Al-Jazzar family home following the attack, where a massive crater was left in the aftermath. According to journalists in the area, 18 people tragically lost their lives.
CNN geolocated the footage to a house in Rafahs Al-Tanour neighborhood and confirmed the strike using satellite imagery.
A satellite image used to geolocate the house in Rafahs Al-Tanour neighborhood.
Maxar Technologies
Local journalists informed CNN that 18 individuals, including journalist Shaima Al-Jazzar and her family, were killed in the bombing. CNN has not been able to confirm the casualties independently.
CNN was able to verify reports from December 4 that an Israeli strike targeted a public water tower located less than 400 meters from the Al-Jazzar family home. Using satellite imagery analysis, it was confirmed that the water tower was destroyed between December 3 and 9.
There were also reports of at least three other airstrikes on locations in Rafah on December 2, 3 and 5 but CNN was not able to independently verify these attacks.
Confusing messaging about safe zones
The IDF's communication in the north of Gaza was found to be contradictory, potentially leading people to believe they were in safe areas, according to a CNN analysis.
On December 2, Adraee used social media to post evacuation orders for citizens in the northern Gaza Strip, specifically identifying certain blocks to the north of Gaza City, which included substantial parts of the Jabalia Refugee Camp. The graphic provided specific instructions for individuals in these areas to "evacuate your homes immediately through the Haifa and Khalil al-Wazir axes and go to the known shelter centers and schools in the Al-Daraj and Tuffah neighborhoods and west of Gaza City."
One of two maps shared by IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee in a post on social media December 2, calling for the evacuation of citizens in the northern Gaza Strip.
From Israel Defense Forces/X
Adraee attached two inconsistent images to the instructions. Both showed the same area, but the second image had a larger number of blocks deemed unsafe.
A second map shared by Adraee, which was inconsistent with the first.
The conflicting messaging created confusion as certain "blocks" were labeled as both "safe" and "unsafe" at the same time. For instance, in the first image, block 720 is not highlighted, but it is shown in the orange area in the second image. Similarly, block 717 is partially highlighted in the first image, but it is fully situated in the orange zone in the second image.
Adraee released new guidance on December 3, featuring only an image showing the larger shaded area. CNN confirmed two Israeli strikes in areas not highlighted in the original image, contradicting the initial safe zone guidance given by Adraee.
On the night of December 3, a video surfaced online depicting a petrol station consumed by flames, reportedly due to an Israeli airstrike in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City. The nighttime footage made it difficult to identify specific landmarks, but sources indicated that the petrol station was situated adjacent to the Palestinian Civil Defense offices. CNN was able to verify this information and locate both the Civil Defense office and the petrol station in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood.
The area's destruction and evident fire damage at the petrol station in block 720, as shown in satellite imagery provided by Planet Labs on December 4, were not previously highlighted on any maps. The Palestinian Civil Defense subsequently announced that the bombing had resulted in the tragic deaths of three of its civilian team members, with several others sustaining injuries.
This December 4 photo shows damage and fire at the al-Tuffah petrol station corroborating reports of an attack at the site on December 3.
Planet Labs
Planet Labs
The satellite imagery captured before and after December 3rd shows significant damage to the petrol station located in the Al-Tuffah neighborhood of Gaza City. Additionally, reports from the local area indicated that the Al-Salam Mosque in the same neighborhood was allegedly hit by Israeli airstrikes on that day.
The satellite imagery shows no clear damage to the mosque, but indications of bombing in the surrounding area are evident. The attack on block 717, the exact date of which has not been confirmed, is revealed by satellite analysis to have occurred between December 2 and 9, following Adraees post correcting the initial map.
The IDF claims that the maps show their dedication to taking every precaution to prevent harm to civilians. However, rights groups and international organizations have expressed skepticism. OCHA has raised concerns about the map's accessibility to Gaza residents due to power outages and telecommunication cuts.
NetBlocks' global internet monitor data shows that during IDF evacuation orders for numbered blocks around Gaza, network connectivity in the Rafah governorate dropped to less than a fifth of peak levels. In the Khan Younis governorate, connectivity was even recorded as zero at times.
An OCHA briefing highlighted the challenge of accessing the map for those in Gaza without electricity and amid frequent telecommunication cuts.
