Gaza City — The Israeli military has directed residents of Gaza City to move south to the designated “humanitarian zone” of Al-Mawasi, warning of an imminent ground assault to seize control of the territory’s largest urban centre.
In a statement issued on Saturday, army spokesman Avichay Adraee urged civilians to relocate without delay. “Take this opportunity to move early to the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone and join the thousands who have already gone there,” he wrote on social media.
According to the military, Al-Mawasi — located along Gaza’s southern coast — has been equipped with field hospitals, desalination plants, water pipelines, and stocked with food, tents, medicines, and medical supplies, supported by the UN and other international organisations. Officials said relief operations would continue alongside the expansion of ground operations.
Israel had earlier designated Al-Mawasi as a safe zone, though it has since been struck multiple times in operations targeting alleged Hamas fighters. Many residents remain sceptical about safety assurances. “Everywhere in Gaza there are bombings and deaths,” said Abdel Nasser Mushtaha, a displaced resident. His daughter, Samia, added, “Wherever we go, death pursues us, whether by bombing or hunger.”
The evacuation order comes as international pressure mounts on Israel to halt the nearly two-year-long conflict. Despite Hamas accepting a proposal for a temporary truce and phased hostage release, Israel insists the group must release all captives simultaneously, disarm, and relinquish control of Gaza.
At the White House on Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed Washington was in “very deep negotiation” with Hamas over the hostages. Of the 251 people abducted during the October 2023 Hamas attack, Israel says 47 remain in captivity, including 25 believed dead. Trump warned the militant group: “Let them all out right now, and much better things will happen for them. But if not, it’s going to be nasty.”
The UN estimates nearly one million civilians remain in and around Gaza City, where famine was declared last month. It has cautioned that a full-scale offensive could trigger a humanitarian “disaster.” Israel, however, maintains that the operation will push another million Palestinians further south.
The war, sparked by Hamas’s 2023 incursion that killed 1,219 people in Israel, has since claimed the lives of at least 64,300 Palestinians — the majority civilians — according to Gaza health authorities, whose figures are deemed credible by the UN.
By Adeola Olaniya | September 6, 2025.
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