After the Israel Defence Force warned Palestinians in northern Gaza including Gaza City to evacuate to the south of the strip, Hamas has asked civilians to not leave the area and remain in their houses.
Salama Marouf, head of the Hamas government media office, said that the IDF’s relocation warning was an attempt by Israel “to broadcast and pass on fake propaganda, aiming to sow confusion among citizens and harm our internal cohesion.” He urged residents to not leave their houses in northern Gaza. Marouf said, “We urge our citizens not to engage in these attempts”.
Responding to Hamas asking civilians to remain in north Gaza despite warning to leave within 24 hours, IDF said, “Hamas is telling Gaza residents to ignore our safety instructions.” The official X handle of IDF said, “The IDF is calling for the evacuation of all civilians of Gaza City from their homes southward for their own safety and protection.”
The IDF is calling for the evacuation of all civilians of Gaza City from their homes southward for their own safety and protection.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 13, 2023
Hamas is telling Gaza residents to ignore our safety instructions. pic.twitter.com/hKUkSJ5p0g
In the meanwhile, IDF dropped thousands of pamphlets on Gaza City, warning residents to evacuate and move towards south within 24 hours. IDF is asking civilians to leave Gaza City before launching a ground invasion. IDF has said that Hamas terrorists hiding in tunnels below houses and in buildings with civilians.
The leaflets dropped by IDF said, ‘Don’t return to your homes until further notice from the Israel Defence Forces. Leave all public and known shelters in the city of Gaza. Do not approach from the security wall, and whoever does so, is risking their lives.’ Around 1.1 million people live in north Gaza, mostly Gaza City, who have been told to evacuate to south.
Talking about the upcoming ground attack on Hamas in Gaza, a spokesman for the Israel Defence Forces said that “the scenes out of Gaza will be hard to stomach” when the attack is launched.
Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus, the international spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, added that “the going gets ugly when Israel attacks Hamas in Gaza, in the second phase of the attack after the bombing of Hamas sites in Gaza Strip for the last 6 days.
Earlier in the day, IDF issued a public notice on its X (Twitter) handle, calling for the evacuation of all civilians from Gaza City to the south of Wadi Gaza, a small stream that divides Gaza into two parts and flows in the Meditation Sea. The Israeli force said that it will continue to operate significantly in Gaza City and make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians.
It asked Gaza City residents to leave the city and move to the south of Wadi Gaza for their own safety and protection. “Civilians of Gaza City, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families and distance yourself from Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields,” said the public notice.
The Israeli force said that they are preparing to hit Hamas hard so that they are not able to attack Israel again.
Before that IDF had informed UN to evacuate Gaza City within 24 hours. However, UN requested IDF to reconsider the order, saying that it is not possible to evacuate and shift over 1 million people in just 24 hours “without devastating humanitarian consequences.” EU also said that 24-hour deadline for 1.1 million people in northern Gaza to relocate to the south is “utterly unrealistic.”
Gaza’s population is around 2.3 million, which means around half the population have been asked to evacuate northern Gaza including Gaza City.
