The Israeli military has issued a final warning for Palestinians to evacuate Gaza City as its army nears its complete encirclement to fight Hamas, officials said.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said the IDF is taking control of the Netzarim Corridor just south of the city, effectively “bisecting” the Gaza Strip as he ordered all civilians to evacuate, the Times of Israel reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated that the looming assault is the best way to apply pressure to Hamas, which is currently going over President Trump’s cease-fire proposal.
“This is the last opportunity for Gaza residents who wish to do so to move south and leave Hamas terrorists isolated in Gaza City, in the face of IDF activity that continues with full force,” Katz said.
The defense minister warned that anyone who chooses to remain in the city will be considered a “terrorist and supporters of terror.”
Katz added that the full-scale invasion of Gaza City will proceed regardless of the current ongoing talks to secure a peace deal, saying that the IDF is “preparing for all possibilities” to bring the hostages home and eliminate Hamas.
With the encirclement of Gaza City nearly complete, those who have not left the city yet will have to do so through the IDF checkpoints in the south, officials said.
The looming siege around Gaza City has raised alarms over the humanitarian situation, with human rights groups slamming the evacuation as forced displacement and targeting of anyone who fails to leave as a violation of international law.
The evacuation routes have also been slammed as hazardous amid daily Israeli shelling, with Gaza’s civil defense agency reporting 36 deaths in Gaza City on Wednesday.
Israel has maintained that the invasion of Gaza City is necessary to route out Hamas’ last remaining battalions and free the 48 remaining hostages.
Along with facing pressure from the Israeli military, Hamas is being pushed by Arab leaders to accept Trump’s 20-point plan and the war that has raged on for nearly two years.
Trump’s plan calls for an immediate cease-fire, an exchange of all the 48 hostages, a staged withdrawal of the Israeli army from Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas, and the creation of a transitional government spearheaded by an international body.