The Israeli military has again put out a warning to all residents of Gaza City to evacuate south to the central Gaza Strip, as operations in the north intensify.
The warnings came through leaflets dropped by aircraft with the instruction that “everyone in Gaza City” should leave what was described as a “dangerous combat zone” through designated safe routes – marked as two roads that lead to shelters in Deir al-Balah and al-Zawaida.
The UN has expressed a deep concern about evacuation orders being given as it is the second time since the beginning of the war that Gaza City as a whole has been given evacuation orders.
Over the past two weeks, Israeli forces have been entering several districts in search of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad fighters who were believed to have regrouped since the start of the year.
Meanwhile, Hamas has said Israel’s renewed military onslaught in the city is threatening to derail negotiations over a potential ceasefire and hostage release deal, which resumed on Wednesday in Qatar. On the negotiations table are the intelligence chiefs of Egypt, the US and Israel, as well as the Qatari prime minister.
Top Hamas official Hossam Badran told a news agency that Israel “is trying to pressure negotiations by intensifying bombing operations, displacement, and committing massacres”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized Israel’s commitment to a deal as long as its “red lines are preserved”.
There are estimated to be over 250,000 people still living in Gaza City and some were observed evacuating to the south after the evacuation order was given.
But others have vowed not to leave.
“I will not leave Gaza [City]. I will not make the stupid mistake that others have made. Israeli missiles do not differentiate between north and south,” a 47-year-old resident named Ibrahim al-Barbari, told the BBC.
“If death is my fate and the fate of my children, we will die with honour and dignity in our homes,” he said.
However, an Israeli military official speaking with the BBC, described what was in the leaflet being distributed as a recommendation, rather than a warning or instruction.
Source: BBC News 
