Leave Gaza City, Israeli army urges all residents; 60% of Hamas terrorists killed or wounded – Defence minister

Tel Aviv, July 10, 2024

The Israeli army is calling on all residents of Gaza City to flee in what observers see as a sign of imminent new military operations.

People should leave the city in the north of the Gaza Strip for the towns of Deir Al-Balah and Al-Zawiya in the centre of the Palestinian territory, said the appeal posted in Arabic by a military spokesman.

He also described routes that those affected can use without encountering checkpoints.

Gaza City is a dangerous combat zone, the spokesman warned.

Israeli media reported that the army had distributed leaflets in the city in the morning that urged people to leave.

In recent weeks, the military called on residents of several of the city’s neighbourhoods to get out.

Since then, there has been heavy fighting in some of the neighbourhoods, including Shejaiya.

The latest call to flee applies to the entire city.

Israeli troops conducted combat operations in Gaza City at the beginning of the war in October 2023.

Since then, fighters of the Palestinian militant Hamas movement have been trying to regroup there and in other parts of the coastal strip.

Gaza City is one of the worst affected by the devastation of recent months.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, says the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have killed or wounded 60 per cent of Hamas terrorists and that most of the Islamist organisation’s battalions have been smashed.

Gallant made the comment to parliament on Wednesday, according to Israeli media.

Israel announced the complete destruction of Hamas as a war objective after the massacres carried out by Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7.

As long as Hamas retains a hold in the Gaza Strip, it can rebuild and strengthen itself, Israeli officials have said, meaning the IDF would then have to return and fight in areas where it had already been deployed.

Gallant has called for the creation of a political alternative to Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has so far refused to present a plan for the administration and reconstruction of Gaza after the end of the war.

Observers say this is likely because he is trying to avoid conflict with his far-right coalition partners who favour the building of Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip, an extremely controversial proposition.