- author, Tom Bennett
- stock, BBC News
The Israeli military has told all residents of Gaza City to evacuate south to the central Gaza Strip, amid intense attacks there.
The airdropped leaflets advised “everyone in Gaza City” to leave what was described as a “dangerous war zone” through safe routes – marked as two roads leading to shelters in Deir al-Bala and al-Jawaida.
UN
Over the past two weeks, Israeli forces have issued evacuation orders and re-entered several areas of Gaza City, where they believe Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have regrouped since earlier this year.
The fighting continues as indirect talks between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire and hostage release deal are set to resume in Qatar. The intelligence chiefs of Egypt, America and Israel are participating in this negotiation.
In a statement released earlier on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that the UN has denied any aid to Palestinian refugees in Gaza City. It said it had “conducted a counter-terrorist operation” overnight against Hamas and PIJ militants operating inside the agency’s (Unrwa) headquarters. .
The troops “eliminated the terrorists in close combat” by opening a “limited corridor to facilitate the evacuation of civilians” before entering the structure, it added.
There was no immediate comment from Anrwa.
The IDF said it had killed dozens of fighters in Gaza City’s eastern Shejaiya district and cleared an underground tunnel last day.
On Tuesday, the UN Human Rights Office He said it was shocking“ The IDF ordered residents to evacuate “areas where Israeli military operations are ongoing and where civilians continue to be killed and injured.”
It warned that the Deir al-Balah area was already overrun by Palestinians displaced from other parts of Gaza, and had little infrastructure and limited access to humanitarian aid.
The Israeli military launched a campaign in Gaza to destroy the Hamas group in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, during which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
More than 38,295 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas health ministry.
