The Israeli military yesterday morning 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.
Israeli Minister of Defense Israel Katz yesterday said Israel had demolished 30 high-rise buildings in Gaza, which it accused Hamas of using for military infrastructure.
Photo: AFP
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said 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.”
Over the past few days, Israel has destroyed multiple high-rise buildings in Gaza City, saying that Hamas has installed surveillance infrastructure in them.
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.
There are about 1 million Palestinians in the area of Gaza City, but prior to this warning just a small fraction have evacuated.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee last week said that the evacuation of Gaza City was inevitable,” saying families who move southward would receive humanitarian assistance.
However, aid groups said there was little infrastructure to support them.
The war in Gaza was sparked when Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people on Oct. 7, 2023, and killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Forty-eight hostages are still inside Gaza, about 20 of them believed to be alive.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,522 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants. It said around half of those killed were women and children.
Large parts of major cities have been completely destroyed and about 90 percent of the population of about 2 million Palestinians have been displaced.
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