Israeli military urges full evacuation of Gaza City

Deir al-Balah: Israel’s military warned Gaza City residents on Tuesday to evacuate ahead of its planned offensive to take control of what it portrays as Hamas’ last remaining stronghold and where hundreds of thousands of people remain struggling under conditions of famine.

The warning came hours before Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas’ leaders in Qatar, officials said, intensifying its campaign against the militant group and endangering negotiations over ending the war in Gaza.

The warnings directed at Gaza City were the first calling for a full evacuation. Until now, the military has only told specific sections of the northern city to evacuate ahead of operations or strikes.

Associated Press reporters saw lines of cars and trucks leaving, more than previous days passing from northern to southern Gaza on Tuesday. Children and adults sat atop piles of blankets, pillows, chairs, and clothing stacked on trucks and wagons.

As part of Israel’s ramped up offensive, it said it has demolished 50 high-rise buildings in Gaza in the past two days. Israeli leaders have accused Hamas of using the buildings for military infrastructure. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said demolition of the high-rises was “only the beginning of the main intensive operation — the ground incursion of our forces.”

First responders rescued two survivors and pulled two bodies from one of the demolished buildings on Tuesday, according to the civil defense, part of the Hamas-run Interior Ministry. It said others were trapped under the rubble.

Israel urged Palestinians to flee parts of Gaza City for a designated humanitarian zone in the territory’s south.

Israel’s previous warnings to leave specific neighbourhoods 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. A similar number were people moved within northern Gaza.

The data from the coalition, called the Site Management Cluster, tracks movement from eyewitness accounts, social media posts and information from partners on the ground, because access to northern Gaza is heavily restricted.

Military spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee warned last week that the full evacuation of Gaza City was “inevitable,” saying families who move south would receive humanitarian assistance.

But aid groups warned there was little infrastructure to support them.

Dozens of Palestinians, including doctors and medical staff, took part in a protest Tuesday in Gaza City to reject the Israeli warnings.

“We will never leave our land … health care workers won’t leave and we are calling for protection,” said Dr. Muneer al-Boursh, the general director of Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Dr. Rami Mhanna, managing director of Shifa Hospital, said the facility was still open despite the uneasy situation and that he didn’t notice displacement in and around the hospital.

“So far, things are as usual,” he told the AP after the evacuation warning. “But the atmosphere is tense and there is great psychological pressure on the staff

and patients.”