The Israeli army ordered a fresh evacuation of areas in southern and central Gaza previously designated as a humanitarian safe zone, saying the areas had been used by Hamas as a base for firing mortars and rockets towards Israel, Reuters reports.

It said warning flyers and text messages had been sent out in the area north of the southern city of Khan Younis and in the eastern part of Deir Al-Balah, where tens of thousands of people have sought shelter from fighting in other parts of Gaza.

“The advance warning to civilians is being issued in order to mitigate harm to the civilian population and to enable civilians to move away from the combat zone,” the military said in a statement.