The Israeli military on Tuesday issued an eviction order for all of Gaza city, as it moves ahead with an expanded assault on the enclave's largest urban centre.
Residents reported that drones dropped leaflets across western parts of the city, home to hundreds of thousands of displaced people, showing the order. Previously, forced displacement orders were limited to specific neighbourhoods, but Tuesday's sweeping directive marks the first time the entire city of one million people has been told to leave.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a similar warning as his military intensified its bombardment of Gaza. "I say to the residents: you have been warned, leave now," he said.
"All of this is just a prelude, just the opening, to the main intensified operation – the ground manoeuvre of our forces, who are now organising and assembling to enter Gaza city," he added.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced the military had destroyed 30 high-rise buildings in Gaza, claiming they had been used by Hamas for military infrastructure. Mr Netanyahu said earlier that Israel planned to raze at least 50 “towers of terror” in the enclave. He claimed they are used by Hamas.
Dr Mohammad Abu Salmiya, director of Al Shifa Hospital, warned the forced displacement of people from Gaza city would spell disaster for the healthcare system.
“Logistically, it is impossible to evacuate Gaza city due to the sheer number of people,” he told The National. “We have more than 1,500 patients in hospitals across the city, including 500 in Al Shifa. Many are in intensive care or are using incubators or dialysis. There is no facility in the south capable of receiving them.”
Dr Abu Salmiya stressed that carrying out the eviction order would amount to “a death sentence” for patients and civilians. “The few hospitals still functioning are already full," he added. "Any strike in these densely populated areas will cause dozens of deaths and injuries."
Israel has destroyed several high-rise buildings in Gaza city in recent days, saying Hamas has installed surveillance infrastructure in them. The demolitions are part of Israel's increased offensive to seize control of what it portrays as Hamas’s last remaining stronghold.
It has ordered Gaza city residents to move to a so-called humanitarian zone in the south of the enclave. About one million Palestinians live in Gaza city, but only a fraction of them had left the area before Israel's latest order.
Left alone
Political analyst Mostafa Ibrahim said the eviction order marked a dangerous escalation in Israel’s strategy in Gaza.
“This signals an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, with hundreds of thousands forced to flee under bombardment,” he told the National. “Israel’s policies amount to systematic destruction and mass displacement, war crimes under international law.”
He also criticised Hamas, saying its leadership has shown “rigid rhetoric lacking political realism” as mediators push for ceasefire or prisoner exchange deals. “Israel seeks to impose a new reality, a destroyed, depopulated north and a south overcrowded with millions," he explained. "Meanwhile, Hamas is trapped by its slogans, unable to make decisions that might ease people’s suffering. Civilians are left caught between displacement and siege.”
For many residents, the latest displacement order has increased their desperation. “It is obvious that we are left alone and what we need is a miracle for all of this to end soon,” said Yazan Fazzaa, 23.
On Tuesday, sources told The National that Hamas informed ceasefire mediators that it would not disarm before Israel withdraws from the enclave, in response to a US proposal that includes the group having to surrender its weapons to stop the war.
The sources said Hamas accused US President Donald Trump of “manoeuvring and evading” by imposing “unacceptable terms” in his latest proposal. Under the deal, Hamas would free all of the remaining 48 hostages on the first day of a truce, in exchange for the release of thousands of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails. Negotiations to end the war would also take place during a ceasefire, Israeli media reported.
The proposal, according to sources, calls on Hamas to lay down its heavy weapons and have them stored under Egyptian supervision. Mr Trump said it marked the last warning to Hamas.
“The demand for disarmament is out of the question and unacceptable. Weapons will remain as long as there is occupation,” one of the sources told The National regarding Hamas’s response to mediators.
“They claimed Trump is not capable of providing guarantees openly and directly, especially regarding the complete cessation of Israeli aggression. They also accused him of manoeuvring and evading and not being serious about what he puts forward."
