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12-07-2024
JERUSALEM/ GAZA CITY: 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 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 media that Israel “is trying to pressure negotiations by intensifying bombing operations, displacement, and committing massacres”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized Israel’s commitment to a deal as long as its “red lines are preserved”.
‘I will not leave’
There are estimated to be more than a quarter-of-a-million people still living in Gaza City.
Some were observed evacuating to the south after the Israeli military dropped leaflets there urging them to leave, which an Israel official later told media was a recommendation rather than an instruction.
Others, though, were not willing to leave.
“I will not leave Gaza (City). I will not make the stupid mistake that others have made. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
