The Israeli military urged a full evacuation of Gaza City ahead of its planned expanded military operation in the city in northern Gaza. The announcement was the first warning for a full evacuation of the city in the current round of fighting.
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip The Israeli military urged a full evacuation of Gaza City on Tuesday morning ahead of its planned expanded offensive in the northern city, where hundreds of thousands of people struggle under conditions of famine.
The announcement was the first warning for a full evacuation of the city in the current round of fighting. Previously, the military has warned specific sections of Gaza City to evacuate ahead of concentrated operations or strikes.
Associated Press reporters saw more cars and trucks than previous days passing from northern to southern Gaza on Tuesday, laden with supplies and people, but no widespread evacuation.
Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday said Israel had demolished 30 high-rise buildings in Gaza, which it accused Hamas of using for military infrastructure.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel destroyed at least 50 “terror towers” that he said are used by Hamas. It was unclear if the towers Katz referred to are in addition to those announced by Netanyahu, who called the demolition of the high-rises “only the introduction, only the beginning of the main intensive operation — the ground incursion of our forces.”
The demolitions are part of Israel ramping up its offensive to take control of what it portrays as Hamas’ last remaining stronghold, urging Palestinians to flee parts of Gaza City for a designated humanitarian zone in the territory’s south.
Tuesday’s warnings were the most widespread evacuation warnings in the current round of fighting, though Israel’s previous warnings to leave specific neighborhoods have had little impact on a population that is exhausted from multiple displacements and unclear if moving to southern Gaza will really be safer.
There are an estimated 1 million Palestinians in the area of north Gaza around Gaza City, according to both the Israeli military and the United Nations, around half of Gaza’s population of 2.1 million. As of Sept. 7, a coalition of humanitarian groups tracking movement in northern Gaza said they had tracked 50,000 movements of people fleeing south.
