The Israeli military has urged civilians still in Gaza City to leave immediately, warning that a major assault could be imminent as its forces expand operations in the densely populated area.
Military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued the evacuation call Saturday on social media, advising residents to move toward the Al-Mawasi zone on Gaza’s southern coast. Israel designates the area as a “humanitarian zone” and said it contains field hospitals, desalination facilities, food, tents, and medical supplies, supported in cooperation with the United Nations and other international groups.
“Take this opportunity to move early to the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone and join the thousands of people who have already gone there,” Adraee said. The military offered no timeline for the expected ground assault, noting in past statements that it would not announce operations in advance to maintain the element of surprise.
Residents voice distrust of evacuation order
Despite the call, many residents expressed skepticism. Abdel Nasser Mushtaha, 48, who fled his neighborhood in Zeitoun and now lives in a tent in Gaza City’s Rimal district, told AFP the warnings feel meaningless.
“Some say we should evacuate, others say we should stay,” he said. “But everywhere in Gaza there are bombings and deaths. For the past year-and-a-half, the worst bombings that caused massacres of civilians have been in Al-Mawasi, this so-called humanitarian zone.”
His daughter, Samia Mushtaha, 20, said displacement offers little safety. “Wherever we go, death pursues us, whether by bombing or hunger,” she said.
Israel first declared Al-Mawasi a safe zone early in the war but has carried out strikes there, arguing that Hamas militants were using the area for cover.
U.S. intensifies pressure and negotiations
The evacuation call came as Israel faces growing international pressure to halt the nearly two-year conflict. Hamas last month accepted a ceasefire proposal involving phased hostage releases, but Israel rejected the terms, demanding the militant group free all captives at once, disarm, and relinquish control of Gaza.
At the White House on Friday, President Donald Trump said the United States is in “very deep negotiation” with Hamas over hostages still held in Gaza.
“There could be some that have recently died, is what I’m hearing. I hope that’s wrong, but you have over 30 bodies in this negotiation,” Trump said, warning that Israel’s demands must be met for progress.
Hamas seized 251 hostages during its October 2023 attack on Israel, which left 1,219 people dead. The Israeli military says 47 remain in Gaza, including 25 believed to be dead.
“We said let them all out right now, let them all out, and much better things will happen for them,” Trump said. “But if you don’t let them all out, it’s going to be a tough situation, it’s going to be nasty.”
UN warns of humanitarian disaster
The United Nations estimates nearly one million people remain in and around Gaza City, where it declared a famine last month. It has warned of a looming “disaster” if Israel proceeds with its expected ground assault, which could displace another million civilians further south.
Nearly all of Gaza’s population of more than two million has already been displaced at least once during the war, which began with Hamas’s 2023 assault on Israel.
Since then, Israel’s retaliatory campaign has killed at least 64,300 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Gaza’s health ministry. The UN considers the figures reliable, though restrictions on media access mean the numbers cannot be independently verified.
Reuters
