The Israeli military announced on Tuesday that it would strike Gaza City with “greater force” and urged residents to flee, in a statement posted on X.
Colonel Avichay Adraee declared: “To all residents of Gaza City, the defence forces are determined to defeat Hamas and will act with greater force in the Gaza City area. Evacuate immediately via the Al-Rashid axis.”
The warning followed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s call for residents of Gaza’s largest urban centre to leave. Israel has intensified bombardments of the city in preparation for a major operation, despite repeated appeals from Western governments and aid agencies to halt the strikes.
“In two days we destroyed 50 terror towers, and this is only the opening stage of the intensified ground manoeuvre in Gaza City. I say to the residents: you have been warned, leave now!” Netanyahu declared in a video statement on Monday evening.
He added: “All of this is merely a prelude, just the beginning, to the main intensified operation — the ground manoeuvre of our forces, who are now assembling to enter Gaza City.”
Hamas condemned Netanyahu’s remarks, calling them an “explicit act of forced displacement” of Gaza City’s population.
“It is taking place under bombardment, massacres, starvation, and threats of death — a blatant and unprecedented violation of international laws and conventions,” Hamas stated.
The Gaza civil defence agency reported that Israeli air strikes continued overnight across the city.