Israeli snipers accused of attacking fleeing civilians in Gaza

Several civilians in Gaza City say people were shot dead by snipers after the Israeli military issued a new evacuation order and told Palestinians to head south as it steps up its offensive across the enclave.

The attacks reportedly took place as civilians evacuated a number of neighbourhoods in Gaza City, having been ordered to leave on Wednesday, even as mediators from Qatar, the United States and Egypt were meeting with Israeli officials in Doha for talks seeking a ceasefire.

Multiple people said they saw a man walking in the street being shot in the head by a sniper taking aim from a tower. Several people later managed to retrieve his body. “This person was walking peacefully, and then a bullet was shot into his head. We went down and brought him here,” one man said.