In brief
In a critical move amidst escalating military operations, Israel has warned nearly one million residents in Gaza City to evacuate southward immediately. This follows airstrikes that have already devastated parts of the city, with impending ground assaults proposed by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. The international community expresses growing concern over potential humanitarian crises as civilians face extreme challenges in evacuation amidst scarce resources and ongoing violence.
Israel has warned all residents of Gaza City to leave immediately in anticipation of a huge ground offensive. The military's Arabic spokesman told as many as one million Palestinians living in Gaza's biggest urban centre to evacuate southwards. Remaining in the area is extremely dangerous, he said.
On Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said air strikes that had destroyed high-rise buildings in Gaza City in recent days were only the beginning of the main, intensive operation to capture what he has described as Hamas's last important stronghold.
Hamas said his remarks amounted to a public demonstration of a fully-fledged crime of forced displacement.
Israel's plan to conquer Gaza City has also brought international criticism. The UN has warned an intensification of the offensive on an area where a famine has already been declared will push civilians into an even deeper catastrophe.
The message from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) - both in leaflets dropped over Gaza City and posted on social media by its Arabic spokesman Col Avichay Adraee - was unequivocal.
To all residents and those present in Gaza City and all its areas, from the Old City and the Tuffah area in the east to the sea in the west: The IDF is determined to defeat Hamas and will operate in Gaza City with great determination, as it has throughout the Gaza Strip, it said.
Photographs showed a stream of people moving south along the coastal road from Gaza City on foot, on donkey carts and in vehicles on Tuesday, but there was no sign of a mass exodus.
The UN has warned that the tent camps in the supposed humanitarian area are already overcrowded and that local hospitals are operating at several times their capacity.
