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The Israeli military ordered all 1 million residents of Gaza City to evacuate immediately Tuesday, warning it would act with "greater force" as it prepares for a ground offensive in the Palestinian enclave's largest urban center.
The evacuation order, which threatens to displace Palestinians living mostly in makeshift tents, comes as Israel intensifies aerial bombardments ahead of what officials describe as a major ground operation to defeat Hamas.
"To all residents of Gaza City ... the defense forces are determined to defeat Hamas and will act with greater force in the Gaza City area," Colonel Avichay Adraee, an Israeli military spokesman, said in a post on social media platform X.
"Evacuate immediately via the Al-Rashid axis," he added.
The spokesman warned that remaining in Gaza City was "extremely dangerous" and urged residents to flee south to the Mawasi area.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reinforced the warning Monday evening, saying forces were organizing and assembling for a ground "maneuver" into Gaza City.
"I say to the residents of Gaza, take this opportunity and listen to me carefully: you have been warned — leave now!" Netanyahu said in a video statement.
The prime minister said Israeli forces had destroyed 50 structures he described as "terror towers" in two days, calling this "only the opening stage of the intensified ground maneuver in Gaza City."
"All of this is just a prelude, just the opening, to the main intensified operation—the ground maneuver of our forces, who are now organizing and assembling to enter Gaza City," Netanyahu added.
The evacuation orders triggered panic and confusion among Gaza City residents. While some said they would have no choice but to leave for the south, the vast majority said they would stay, arguing no place in Gaza was safe.
Hamas denounced Netanyahu's threat as an "explicit act of forced displacement" of Gaza City residents.
"It is taking place under the weight of bombardment, massacres, starvation, and threats of death—constituting a blatant and unprecedented challenge to international laws and conventions," the Palestinian militant group said in a statement.
Gaza's civil defense agency reported that Israeli air strikes continued overnight across Gaza City as the military prepared for its operation.
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The escalation complicates ongoing ceasefire negotiations to end the nearly two-year war. Netanyahu and his far-right coalition partners have identified Gaza City as one of two remaining Hamas strongholds they plan to target.
Qatar has been pressing Hamas leaders to "respond positively" to the latest U.S.-proposed Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal during talks in Doha on Monday, according to an official briefed on the negotiations who spoke to Reuters.
Hamas stated that it had received ideas from the United States regarding a ceasefire deal and was discussing with mediators ways to develop those proposals.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said Monday that Israel has accepted a Gaza ceasefire proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump.
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