As Israel prepares a ground invasion in Gaza Strip following weeks of airstrikes targeting Hamas sites in retaliation to the horrific terror attack on 7 October, the Israel Defence Forces today asked all civilians in north Gaza to move to south Gaza ‘immediately’. In a video statement published on IDF’s X handle, its spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said that residents of northern Gaza and Gaza to southern Gaza for their own safety.
He said, “this is an urgent military advisory from Israel Defence Forces, for your immediate safety, we urge all residents of northern Gaza and Gaza City to temporarily relocate to the south immediately.” The spokesperson added, “this is a temporary measure, moving back to northern Gaza will be possible once the intense hostilities end.”
An urgent message for the residents of Gaza: pic.twitter.com/GAW3a7lWt8
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 28, 2023
Describing how Hamas is endangering the lives of Palestinians by asking them to stay in the north, Daniel Hagari said, “Hamas puts your life in danger, by placing weapons and forces within civilian areas in Gaza, including schools, mosques and hospitals.”
Talking about the upcoming ground operation, the IDF spokesperson said, “The impending IDF operation is set to neutralise these threats of Hamas with precision and intensity.” He added that humanity remains haunted by the massacre unleashed by Hamas on October 7th. Daniel Hagari further added that Israel with never forget the massacre and kidnapping of civilians by Hamas terrorists.
He again urged Gaza residents to move south immediately for their own safety, hinting that a full-scale ground operation would begin soon.
In the meanwhile, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has said that Israel has “moved to a new phase” in the war against Hamas after IDF bombed Hamas tunnels in the Strip. “We attacked above ground and below ground, we attacked terror operatives of all ranks, in all places. The commands to the forces are clear: The operation will continue until a new order,” he said,
IDF has been asking civilians in northern Gaza and Gaza City to move to southern Gaza, south of the Wadi Gaza, for around two weeks now. On 13 October, Israel warned residents of north Gaza to move to South Gaza within 24 hours, to the south of a stream named Wadi Gaza, ahead of the ground operations. However, Hamas appealed to Palestinians not to leave their homes, and even actively prevented them from evacuating to the south. Israel has said that Hamas is not allowing civilians to leave to use them as human shields.
Apart from this, there was pressure from the international community on Israel to postpone the operation. Given that almost half of residents in Gaza live in north Gaza, UN officials said that it is not possible to evacuate 1.1 million people in just a day. Given the concerns about civilians still present in the north, IDF didn’t launch the ground invasion. IDF has been urging the residents of Gaza to evacuate multiple times for their own safety.
However, Israel’s patience has run out, and on 22 October, it issued a final warning to the Palestinians still in north Gaza to leave immediately to south Gaza. In a leaflet dropped in Gaza, Israel warned that if the residents fail to comply with the instructions, they could be perceived as supporters of a “terrorist organisation”.
The message in the leaflet said, “Urgent warning to residents of Gaza. Your presence north of Wadi Gaza puts your life in danger. Whoever chooses not to leave North Gaza to move to the south of Wadi Gaza might be identified as an accomplice in a terrorist organisation.”
While a full-scale ground invasion has not started, IDF has started limited raids into Gaza Strip’s northern part with infantry and tanks.
Israel has said that following the targeted air strikes, it will launch a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip especially Northern Gaza including Gaza City, to ‘wipe out’ Hamas from the enclave. IDF had positioned tanks and troops along the Gaza border days after the October 7 attack, and the govt has said that orders for an invasion will be issued soon. IDF has said that the ground war will be “difficult, long and intense.”
