Israel orders Gaza City evacuations ahead of offensive

The Israeli military has called on residents of Gaza City to move south to the designated “humanitarian zone” of Al-Mawasi as it prepares for a major offensive to capture the enclave’s largest urban center. While no date for the ground operation was given, officials stressed that it would not be pre-announced in order to preserve the element of surprise.

Military spokesman Avichay Adraee addressed civilians directly on social media, urging them to “take this opportunity to move early to the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone and join the thousands of people who have already gone there.” The army emphasized that Al-Mawasi, located on Gaza’s southern coast, has been outfitted with temporary medical facilities, water pipelines, desalination systems, and ongoing deliveries of food, tents, and medicine in cooperation with the United Nations and aid organizations.

Residents Voice Fear and Distrust

Despite these assurances, many residents expressed doubt about the safety of Al-Mawasi. The area, first designated a safe zone by Israel earlier in the war, has since been repeatedly struck by air raids, which Israel says targeted Hamas fighters using civilians as cover.

Abdel Nasser Mushtaha, a displaced man from the Zeitoun neighborhood now sheltering in Rimal, told AFP that fleeing seemed meaningless. “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,” he said. His daughter Samia echoed the despair: “Wherever we go, death pursues us, whether by bombing or hunger.”

U.S. Mediation Efforts Over Hostages

The evacuation call comes as international pressure mounts on Israel to halt its nearly two-year military campaign. Talks over a ceasefire remain stalled. Hamas has previously agreed to a temporary truce tied to phased hostage releases, but Israel has insisted that all captives must be freed at once and that Hamas disarm completely.

At the White House, President Donald Trump confirmed that the U.S. is engaged in what he called “very deep negotiation” with Hamas regarding the remaining hostages. Militants abducted 251 people during the October 2023 attacks on Israel, and according to Israeli figures, 47 are still held in Gaza—25 of them presumed dead. Trump warned Hamas that refusing to release all hostages immediately would lead to a “tough situation” and urged their unconditional return.

Humanitarian Concerns and Mounting Casualties

The United Nations estimates close to one million people are still trapped in and around Gaza City, which it declared famine-stricken last month. Officials have warned that a new Israeli assault could create a “disaster” on an unprecedented scale, potentially displacing another million people southward.

The war, now nearing its second year, has already displaced most of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents, many multiple times. The initial Hamas-led attack in October 2023 left 1,219 people dead in Israel, mostly civilians. Since then, Israel’s military response has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians, according to figures from Gaza’s health ministry that the United Nations deems credible, though independent verification remains limited due to restricted access for journalists and aid groups.

Israel maintains that its campaign is directed at Hamas infrastructure and fighters, while critics warn that the humanitarian toll risks overwhelming any military objectives. The coming days are likely to determine whether Gaza City faces yet another wave of devastation—or whether international pressure can force a pause in the violence.

---

Would you like me to also add a short timeline of the war’s major turning points since October 2023 to give readers more context about how the conflict reached this stage?