TEL AVIV, Israel — The Israeli military urged a full evacuation of Gaza City on Tuesday morning ahead of its planned expanded military operation in the city in northern Gaza.
The announcement was the first warning for a full evacuation of the city in the current round of fighting. Defense Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday said Israel had demolished 30 high-rise buildings in Gaza, which it accused Hamas of using for military infrastructure.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel destroyed at least 50 “terror towers” that he said are used by Hamas. It was unclear if the towers Katz referred to are in addition to those announced by Netanyahu, who called the demolition of the high-rises “only the introduction, only the beginning of the main intensive operation — the ground incursion of our forces.”
Over the past days, Israel has destroyed multiple high-rise buildings in Gaza City, warning that Hamas has installed surveillance infrastructure in them.
The demolitions are part of Israel ramping up its offensive to take control of what it portrays as Hamas’ last remaining stronghold, urging Palestinians to flee parts of Gaza City for a designated humanitarian zone in the territory’s south.
There are around 1 million Palestinians in the area of Gaza City, though prior to this warning just a small fraction have evacuated.
Military spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee warned last week that the evacuation of Gaza City was inevitable,” saying families who move southward would receive humanitarian assistance. But aid groups warned there was little infrastructure to support them.
The war in Gaza was sparked when Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people on Oct. 7, 2023 and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Forty-eight hostages are still inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed to be alive.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,522 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were civilians or combatants. It says around half of those killed were women and children. Large parts of major cities have been completely destroyed and around 90% of the population of some 2 million Palestinians have been displaced.
