The Israeli military has declared Gaza City "a
dangerous combat zone," warning of an imminent offensive as the war in the
Palestinian territory nears its second year.
Israel is facing increasing domestic and international pressure to halt its offensive in Gaza, where the UN has declared a famine and the great majority of the population has been uprooted at least once.
However, the Israeli military is preparing to escalate the conflict and take control of Gaza City, as its Arabic-speaking spokesperson stated on Friday:
"We are not waiting.
We have begun preliminary operations and the initial stages of the attack on Gaza City, and we are currently operating with great force on the outskirts of the city,"
Avichay Adraee said on X.
The Gaza governorate, which encompasses Gaza City and the surrounding area in the north of the territory, is currently home to around a million people, according to UN estimates.
Last Monday, the UN declared famine in the Gaza governorate, citing Israel's "systematic obstruction" of the delivery of humanitarian goods.
According to an army statement released on Friday, Gaza City "constitutes a dangerous combat zone" moving forward, and the daily military pauses that had permitted sporadic food delivery will no longer be applicable there.
According to Adraee, the evacuation of the city was "inevitable" earlier this week, even if the military did not order the inhabitants to leave right away.
The military will step up its attacks until all hostages held in Gaza are returned and Hamas is destroyed "militarily and politically," according to spokesman Adraee.
During an operation in Gaza, the military claimed to have found the remains of two hostages.
One of them was recognized as Ilan Weiss, whose body was sent to Gaza after he was murdered in the Hamas bombing that started the conflict. The second hostage's identity is still unknown.
Israel was cautioned by Hamas that its planned onslaught in Gaza City would expose local hostages to the "same risks" as its combatants.
"We will take care of the prisoners the best we can, and they will be with our fighters in the combat and confrontation zones, subjected to the same risks and the same living conditions",
the spokesperson for Hamas's armed wing, Abu Obeida said.
About 20 of the 47 hostages that are currently being held in Gaza are thought to be alive out of the 251 that were taken during the October 2023 incident.
According to Gaza's civil defense organization, Israeli soldiers killed at least 40 Palestinians on Friday throughout the region.
The Israeli military asked for coordinates to investigate the reports when AFP asked for comment.
AFP is unable to independently confirm the tolls and information provided by the Israeli military or civil defense organization because to media restrictions in Gaza and access issues in several regions.
The "endless catalogue of horrors" in Gaza has been denounced by UN chief Antonio Guterres, who has also called for accountability and issued a warning about possible war crimes.
Turkey declared on Friday that it has barred Israeli ships and aircraft from using its ports and airspace; a diplomatic source told AFP that the prohibition only extended to "official" flights.
Hamas applauded the action and called on international nations to "escalate punitive measures" against Israel in order to force it to stop its offensive.
According to an AFP count based on Israeli data, 1,219 persons were killed in Hamas' October 2023 attack, the majority of whom were civilians.
At least 63,025 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's retaliatory attack, the majority of them civilians, according to UN-reliable numbers from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.
What humanitarian routes remain into Gaza City after the combat zone declaration?
The Israeli military declared that the "tactical
pause" that had been in place for the safe distribution of humanitarian
aid to Gaza City throughout the day would no longer be applicable. This
essentially stops regular assistance convoys from entering the city, which has
a population of approximately one million.
Due to military activities, the IDF has warned civilians not to approach aid distribution locations and the roads that lead to them, which have been designated as combat zones.
With the exception of Gaza City, which is subject to the strictest restrictions, some aid is still being sent to other areas of the Gaza Strip. Many people are still stranded with no help, despite the IDF's calls for inhabitants to leave Gaza City and relocate south, providing a corridor for transfer.