Israel orders full evacuation of Gaza City ahead of military takeover

Israeli forces on Tuesday ordered a complete evacuation of Gaza City ahead of its planned military takeover. 

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced the order online early Tuesday, warning residents that remaining in Gaza City, home to nearly half of the Gaza Strip’s population, would be “extremely dangerous.” Leaflets carrying the message were also dropped from the air, directing residents to travel westward to the coast before going south.

“To all residents of Gaza City and all its neighborhoods, from the Old City and Tuffah in the east to the sea in the west. The IDF is determined to defeat Hamas and will operate in the Gaza City area with great force, just as it did throughout the Strip,” Avichay Adraee, the military’s Arabic spokesperson, said on Tuesday.

“For your safety, evacuate immediately via the Rashid axis toward the humanitarian zone in Al-Mawasi,” he added.

The evacuation order followed an Israeli air strike on Friday that hit a Gaza City high-rise the military claimed Hamas used for surveillance. Israel has expanded its operations in recent weeks and now holds operational control over about 40% of the city, according to Reuters.

Israel’s security cabinet last month approved plans to seize Gaza City as part of its campaign to defeat Hamas, which launched the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described Gaza City as one of Hamas’s last strongholds.

“I say to the residents of Gaza, I take this opportunity and listen to me carefully: you have been warned — leave now!” Netanyahu said Monday, according to CBC.

Of the 251 people taken hostage on Oct. 7, 22 remain in Hamas captivity, according to The Washington Post.

“If Hamas terrorists do not lay down their arms and release all the hostages, they will be destroyed and Gaza will be ruined,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Monday on X.

Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly adopted an oral decision proposed by Saudi Arabia to resume a high-level international conference on the two-state solution on Sept. 22, which the Trump administration has condemned.

“The United States will not participate in this insult to the victims of October 7th but will continue to lead real-world efforts to end the fighting and deliver a permanent peace,” Ting Wu, Deputy Political Counselor to the UN, said on Friday in response to the decision. “Our focus remains on serious diplomacy, not stage-managed conferences designed to manufacture the appearance of relevance.”

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