(Reuters) – Israel’s military on Tuesday ordered Gaza City residents to evacuate ahead of a new offensive to seize the enclave’s largest urban centre, part of a planned takeover stirring international alarm over the fate of the entire territory.
Taking over the city of one million Palestinians complicates ceasefire efforts to end the nearly two-year war as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu follows through with his plan to take on Hamas’ two remaining strongholds.
Netanyahu said Israel had no choice but to complete the job and defeat Hamas given that the Palestinian militant group had refused to lay down its arms. Hamas said it would not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state is established.
International critics say Israel’s plan, which includes demilitarising the whole strip as Israel takes security control of it, could deepen the humanitarian plight of the 2.2 million population, which is facing a critical risk of famine.
Mediation efforts by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt have failed to bridge gaps between Israel and Hamas in order to secure a ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages Hamas holds in Gaza.
Israel had already taken control of 75% of Gaza since the war began with Hamas’ cross-border assault on October 7, 2023 in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken as hostage back to Gaza, Israeli tallies show. Israeli authorities say 20 of the remaining 48 hostages in Gaza are alive.
Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed over 62,000 Palestinians, Gaza’s health ministry says, internally displaced nearly the entire population and left much of the territory in ruins.
(Reporting by Nayera Abdallah, Editing by Mark Heinrich and Michael Georgy)
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