Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu urged Gaza City residents to
evacuate, warning of intensified airstrikes as Israel steps up its military
campaign.
According to Netanyahu, troops are forming and gathering in Gaza City in preparation for a ground "manoeuvre."
He said:
"I say to the residents of Gaza, I take this opportunity and listen to me carefully: You have been warned — leave now."
Israel had earlier said that it would increase attacks on Gaza on Monday as a final warning to Hamas that the enclave would be destroyed unless fighters agreed to a demand made by U.S. President Donald Trump that all captives be released and surrender.
According to locals, Israeli forces detonated armored vehicles in the streets of Gaza City and dropped bombs on the city from the air.
When Trump delivered the most recent U.S. ceasefire offering on Sunday, he warned that it was the militant group's "last chance." Hamas stated it was analyzing the idea.
"A mighty hurricane will hit the skies of Gaza City today, and the roofs of the terror towers will shake,"
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz wrote on X.
Katz's post came before news broke that six people, including a Spanish national, had been slain in a shooting at a Jerusalem bus stop. The attackers were praised by Hamas.
Three hours after advising everyone inside and in hundreds of tents outside to evacuate, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck a 12-story block in the center of Gaza City where scores of displaced families had been accommodated.
The IDF stated in a statement that Hamas terrorists had been operating close to the structure and "have used it throughout the war to plan and advance terror attacks against IDF forces" after they "planted intelligence gathering means" and explosive devices.
The most recent U.S. proposal for Gaza, according to a senior Israeli official, calls for Hamas to return all 48 captives, both dead and alive, on the first day of a ceasefire, during which time peace talks would take place.
For a long time, Hamas has stated that it would keep at least some captives until the conclusion of the negotiations. In a statement, it pledged to free all hostages in exchange for a "clear announcement of an end to the war" and the evacuation of Israeli troops from Gaza.
After returning from the most intense fighting of the early weeks of the war over two years ago, hundreds of thousands of Gaza City residents are now living in the wreckage of the city after Israel launched a major attack on it last month.
In order to secure the release of all the hostages held by Hamas, U.S. President Donald Trump hinted on Sunday that a deal with Gaza might be imminent. He had earlier sent the Palestinian militant group what he described as his "last warning".
Speaking at a press conference with his Hungarian counterpart in Budapest, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar announced that Israel had agreed to US President Donald Trump's proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza.
In 2023, Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel, sparking the start of the war. More than 250 hostages were taken to Gaza by the terrorists, who also killed 1,200 people. The gang has kept some hostages as a negotiating leverage, although the majority were freed after ceasefires in November 2023 and January to March 2025.
A humanitarian disaster has resulted from Israel's attack, which has left much of the enclave in rubble. Health officials in the enclave have documented the deaths of around 63,000 Palestinians.
Gaza's Health Ministry reported Monday that six more Palestinians, including two children, had perished in the last 24 hours from famine and malnutrition, bringing the total number of deaths from these causes to at least 393, the majority of whom had died in the previous two months.
Israel, which is in charge of all supplies entering Gaza, claims that the recorded death toll is from other causes and that the level of hunger in the region has been overstated.
Negotiations to end the war have failed throughout the conflict because Israel demands that Hamas surrender and release all hostages.
What are the immediate humanitarian implications for displaced Gazans?
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been forcibly
displaced from their homes in Gaza City and other locations, leading to a
humanitarian crisis with many now displaced persons seeking shelter in
overcrowded and unsafe makeshift accommodations.
Displaced families have immediate, life-threatening shortages of water, food, sanitation, and medical care due to wrecked infrastructure and ongoing besiegement. Most of the "safe" zones lack basic functioning services such as running water or toilets, and access to humanitarian organizations does not exist.
Deliberate siege and bombing has interrupted and obstructed reliable food reserves, exacerbating hunger and malnutrition. Over 90 percent of habitable structures in Gaza are destroyed or damaged, and millions are experiencing food starvation including many children and vulnerable groups.