The Israel Defense Forces are “tightening the noose” around Gaza City, according to Israeli officials intent on killing the Hamas leaders who orchestrated the Oct. 7 rampage that started the war.

“They have one target: Hamas terrorists in Gaza, their infrastructure, their commanders, bunkers, communications rooms,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday. “They are tightening the noose around Gaza City.”

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Israeli forces have stepped up their ground operations in the Gaza Strip after weeks of bombardment, which U.S. officials expect to ease the passage of humanitarian aid into the southern part of the strip. Israeli officials have paired that tactical shift with another call for civilians to evacuate the beleaguered area, in language designed to drive a wedge between Palestinian civilians and the terrorist organization.

“If you care about yourself and your loved ones, head south according to our instructions,” IDF spokesman Avichay Adraee said in an Arabic-language message directed at civilians. “Rest assured that Hamas leaders have already taken care of themselves.”

Israel called for an evacuation of civilians in the first week of the war, but Hamas officials instructed the civilians to ignore that order. If designed to dissuade Palestinian civilians from continuing to heed Hamas, Adraee’s message likewise continued a recent theme of Israeli officials appearing to encourage Palestinian civilians or perhaps even Hamas members to turn on the group’s leaders.

“It's very common that in a group like this, you would try to create dissension in the ranks of the enemy,” Hudson Institute adjunct fellow Ezra Cohen, who worked in intelligence-related roles at the Pentagon and White House National Security Council during the Trump presidency, told the Washington Examiner. “That's clearly what the Israelis are trying to do. Any faction that they can break off from Hamas becomes a tool for the Israelis. And I think they're doing everything they can to kind of fracture Hamas.”

Gallant was more specific than Adraee in his barbs in recent days, which he aimed at the senior Hamas chief in Gaza.

“[Hamas Gaza chief] Yahya Sinwar hides in his bunker, sending field commanders to die on the ground,” Gallant said Monday. “With us, commanders lead the forces, advance, achieve results, and lead the troops.”

Israeli officials published footage that purported to show “thousands [of Palestinians] pass through the evacuation corridor” established by the IDF.

“There is a sense right now that Palestinians have just given up on Hamas, that there is, maybe, a psychological tipping point that may have been reached among at least some within the Gaza population,” Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Vice President Jonathan Schanzer told the Washington Examiner. “They realize that Hamas has led them down the path of disaster. And I think the Israelis are trying to exploit that in some shape or form.”

Gallant has made his wishes clear by implying that the Palestinians might hasten the end of the war by turning on Sinwar.

“We will get to Yahya Sinwar and eliminate him,” Gallant said. “If the residents of Gaza get there ahead of us, that will shorten the war.”

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That message is in tension with Israel’s stated determination to eradicate Hamas from the Gaza Strip, according to U.S. and European analysts consulted by the Washington Examiner, but it encapsulates a theme of Israeli government messaging in recent days.

“They want the populace to turn on Hamas because that will make their job much easier,” Cohen said. “Look, the Hamas fighters in Gaza are in part dependent on the population for a degree of support. And again, it's not that the public wants to support them, but they're kind of held hostage. … And so I think Israel is looking for help from the disaffected population."