The IDF intensified its campaign in Gaza City on Saturday, striking high-rise buildings and calling on residents to evacuate south. The military says nearly half of the city’s prewar population has already left.
Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, accused Hamas of “killing all its opponents since its founding, looting budgets, and using civilians and their families as human shields.” He told Gaza City residents that while they faced danger, “the movement’s ‘ISIS men’ are hiding underground or celebrating outside Gaza in hotels.” He urged civilians not to follow Hamas’s instructions and to leave the city.
IDF forces in Gaza City
(Video: IDF)
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said 34 Palestinians were killed Saturday in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza City.
Israeli officials estimate that about 500,000 people have already left Gaza City, which before the operation was believed to house around 1 million residents. That suggests only about half have evacuated, a figure that could complicate the IDF’s efforts to take control of the city. Hamas acknowledged about 270,000 departures but said 22,000 people have since returned.
In recent weeks, the IDF has struck high-rises in Gaza City as part of an effort to pressure residents to leave. The military said at least 20 towers have been demolished in airstrikes because they were being used by Hamas. Residents reported demolitions in the neighborhoods of Zeitoun, Tuffah, Shujaiya and Sheikh Radwan.
ACLED, a conflict-monitoring group, said more than 170 demolitions have been recorded in Gaza City since the beginning of August. “The pace and scale appear broader than before,” the group told Reuters.
Aftermath of IDF strike in Lebanon
Meanwhile in southern Lebanon, local media reported that a drone strike hit a vehicle on the al-Khardali road, killing one person.