Israel orders 1.1 million Palestinians to evacuate northern Gaza Strip due to threat of ground attack

Palestinians with their property are fleeing to safer areas of Gaza City. Photo: Mahmoud Hams/AFP

Israel has given the 1.1 million Palestinians living in northern Gaza 24 hours to leave as Israel masses tanks near the border ahead of an expected ground offensive aimed at destroying Hamas.

< p>On Friday morning, the Israeli military said it planned to make “significant moves” in Gaza City “in the coming days.”

“Now is the time for war,” Yoav Gallant, Israel's defense minister, said Thursday as warplanes continued to bombard the Gaza Strip in retaliation for Hamas attacks over the weekend that killed more than 1,300 Israelis, mostly civilians.

The Israeli military said Palestinian civilians would only be able to return after another announcement was made.

Palestinians were warned to evacuate to southern Gaza. Photo: Mahmoud Hams/AFP

“Gaza City civilians, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families and distance yourself from the Hamas terrorists who are using you as a human shield,” the military said in a statement.

“Hamas terrorists are hiding in Gaza City inside tunnels under houses and inside buildings inhabited by innocent Gazan civilians.”

A Hamas spokesman said the Gaza displacement warning was «false propaganda» and urged citizens not to fall for it.

Hamas called on Palestinians to rise up in protest against Israel's bombing on Friday, calling on Palestinians to march to the East. Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque and clashes with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.

More than 1,500 Palestinians were killed in retaliatory attacks after the Hamas incursion on Saturday.

The UN called on Israel to rescind the order, saying that «such a movement cannot be carried out without devastating humanitarian consequences.»

The UN official said Israel had told him the evacuation had to take place within 24 days. hours, although Israel has not commented.

The Palestinian UN Refugee Agency (UNRWA) said it had moved its central operations center and international staff to southern Gaza.

Site Gaza Invasion poses a serious threat due to the large number of Israelis taken hostage by Hamas.