JERUSALEM 

Israel has evacuated 60% of the population of the Sderot settlement near the Gaza Strip. 

The official Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation said Thursday that the evacuation of Sderot residents to hotels in the center of the country has been ongoing for a week.

"About 13,000 people remain in Sderot, or about 40% of the city's population," it said.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth daily said the Defense Ministry’s National Emergency Authority (NEMA) launched a program that allows Sderot residents to move to state-supported hotels and guesthouses in central areas of Israel.

On Wednesday, Sderot Mayor Alon Davidi called on the government to evacuate all residents in an organized manner.

During the past few days, Sderot was the scene of clashes between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli forces, and it also witnessed the fall of dozens of rockets from the Gaza Strip.

Israel has previously evacuated a number of settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip.

Israeli forces have launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip in response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.

The conflict began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea and air.

Hamas said the attack was in retaliation for the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

In response, the Israeli military launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

That has extended to cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.