Over the past week, the Israeli military has pushed back into Rafah, launching air and artillery strikes, sending troops into several neighborhoods, and forcing Palestinians who had recently returned under a cease-fire to flee once again.

The military order came during the Muslim holiday of Eid, and almost a year after Israel launched a devastating invasion of the city bordering Egypt.

The Israeli military has indicated it could soon launch another major offensive in Rafah and ordered most of the southernmost city in the Gaza Strip evacuated.

The Red Cross said Israel killed eight Palestinian medics when it struck ambulances in southern Gaza. United Nations officials said the Red Cross workers’ bodies, along with other Palestinian rescue workers,

The strikes mark the most significant escalation in Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip since Israel and the militant group Hamas reached a tenuous ceasefire agreement nearly two months ago. Hamas has accused Israel of violating the fragile truce hundreds of times since it went into effect in January.

The world body will temporarily remove about a third of its approximately 100 international staffers working in Gaza.