The Israeli military has told all residents of Gaza City to evacuate south to the central Gaza Strip, amid intensified operations in the north.
Leaflets dropped by aircraft instruct “everyone in Gaza City” to leave what is described as a “dangerous combat zone” via designated safe routes – marked as two roads that lead to shelters in Deir al-Balah and al-Zawaida.
The UN has said it is deeply concerned about the evacuation orders being given. It is the second time since the war began that Gaza City as a whole has been asked to evacuate.
Over the past two weeks, Israeli forces have re-entered several districts where the military believes Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters have regrouped since the start of the year.
Hamas has said Israel’s renewed activity in the city is threatening to derail negotiations over a potential ceasefire and hostage release deal, which resumed on Wednesday in Qatar. The talks are being attended by the intelligence chiefs of Egypt, the US and Israel, as well as the prime minister of Qatar.
Top Hamas official Hossam Badran told AFP that Israel “is trying to pressure negotiations by intensifying bombing operations, displacement, and committing massacres”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasised Israel’s commitment to a deal as long as Israel’s “red lines are preserved”.
There are estimated to be more than a quarter-of-a-million people still living in Gaza City – and some were observed evacuating to the south.
Others, though, were not willing to leave.
“I will not leave Gaza [City]. I will not make the stupid mistake that others have made. Israeli missiles do not differentiate between north and south,” resident Ibrahim al-Barbari, 47, told the BBC.
“If death is my fate and the fate of my children, we will die with honour and dignity in our homes,” he said.
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had received calls from some residents who were unable to leave their homes because of the intensity of the bombing.
“The information coming from Gaza City shows residents are living through tragic conditions. [Israeli] occupation forces continue to hit residential districts, and displace people from their homes and refuge shelters,” it said.
