'This is only the beginning': Netanyahu issues warning as Israel orders mass evacuation of Gaza city ahead of full military push
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'This is only the beginning': Netanyahu issues warning as Israel orders mass evacuation of Gaza city ahead of full military push")
Benjamin Netanyahu Photograph: (AFP)
Israel orders Gaza city’s million residents to evacuate as it intensifies strikes, vowing this is ‘only the beginning’ of its ground takeover campaign
Israel has instructed the entire population of Gaza City — home to around one million people — to leave immediately as it prepares for a large-scale ground offensive aimed at seizing control of the territory’s biggest urban center. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) issued the order on Tuesday (September 9), warning residents that heavy military action would soon engulf the city. “From the Old City and Tuffah in the east to the shoreline in the west, the IDF will strike Hamas with overwhelming force in Gaza City,” said Avichay Adraee, the army’s Arabic-language spokesperson.
He urged civilians to evacuate through the Rashid coastal road toward Al-Mawasi, which Israel has designated as a “humanitarian zone.” The directive was reinforced by air-dropped leaflets that included maps instructing people to move westward toward the sea before heading south. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already cautioned Palestinians a day earlier, declaring, “This is only the beginning of the intensified ground maneuver in Gaza City.” Hours later, Israeli forces escalated aerial bombardments, hitting several high-rise residential towers.
According to Israeli officials, the military already holds about 40% of Gaza City, but the campaign is being stepped up to secure full control, which Israel claims is essential to dismantle Hamas. Despite the evacuation orders, only about 70,000 residents—less than 10% of the city’s population—have fled so far. Humanitarian preparations remain far behind the pace of displacement. Israel says just 3,000 tents have entered Gaza to date, far short of its target of 100,000 within three weeks. “We want to flood Gaza with tents,” a senior Israeli official told reporters.
Meanwhile, Washington and Tel Aviv plan to expand aid distribution centers managed by the contentious Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) from four to 16. But as of now, it is unclear whether the additional sites are operational.
Trending Stories
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
