THE Israeli military has told all residents of Gaza City to evacuate south to the central Gaza Strip, amid an intensification of operations in the north.
Leaflets dropped by warplanes instructed “everyone in Gaza City” to leave what was described as a “dangerous combat zone” through designated safe routes – marked as two roads leading to shelters in Deir al-Balah and al-Zawaida.
The UN has expressed deep concern regarding the evacuation order. It is the second time since the war began that the entire Gaza City has been asked to evacuate.
Over the past two weeks, Israeli forces have entered several districts where the military believes Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters have regrouped since the start of the year.
Hamas said the new Israeli activity in the city threatened to derail negotiations on a ceasefire and hostage release, which resumed Wednesday in Qatar. The talks were attended by the intelligence chiefs of Egypt, the U.S. and Israel, as well as Qatar’s prime minister.
250,000 Still in Gaza City
It is estimated that more than a quarter of a million people still live in Gaza City. However, there are also those who are unwilling to leave the city.
Read also: UN Investigates Role of US Aid Dock in Israeli Attack on Nuseirat
“I will not leave Gaza [City]. I will not make the same stupid mistake as others did. Israeli missiles do not distinguish between north and south,” Ibrahim al-Barbari, 47, told the BBC.
“If death is my destiny and the destiny of my children, we will die with honor and dignity in our home,” he added.
The Palestinian Red Cross said it had received calls from several residents who were unable to leave their homes due to the intensity of the bombardment.
Also read: UN Expert Says Israel Deliberately Makes Gaza Residents Suffer from Starvation
“Information coming from Gaza City shows that the population is experiencing tragic conditions. The occupation forces [Israel] continue to attack residential districts, and displace people from their homes and shelters,” they said.
Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said its forces had “conducted a counter-terror operation” overnight once morest Hamas and PIJ fighters operating inside the headquarters of the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees (Unrwa) in Gaza City.
The forces had opened “a designated corridor to facilitate the evacuation of civilians” from the area before they entered the structure and “eliminated the terrorists in close combat,” the IDF added.
Also read: Palestinians Trapped Like in Hell
There was no immediate comment from Unrwa.
The IDF also said it had killed dozens of fighters in the Shejaiya district of eastern Gaza and dismantled an underground tunnel route in the past day.
Speaking in Israel’s parliament on Wednesday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said 60% of Hamas fighters had been killed or wounded since the Israeli offensive began. The BBC might not independently verify these figures.
On Tuesday, the UN Human Rights Office said it was “shocked” by the IDF’s order to evacuate “areas where Israeli military operations are ongoing and where civilians continue to be killed and injured.”
They also warned that the Deir al-Balah area was already heavily congested with Palestinians displaced from other parts of Gaza and there was little infrastructure and limited access to humanitarian aid.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza to crush the Hamas group in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 others taken hostage.
More than 38,295 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and fighters, but it has reportedly identified 14,680 children, women and elderly people among the dead by the end of April. (BBC/Z-3)
#Israeli #Military #Orders #Gaza #City #Residents #Evacuate #South #Intensified #Attacks