Israel urges full evacuation of Gaza City as high-rise buildings destroyed

The Israeli military has urged a full evacuation of Gaza City ahead of its planned military operation in the city.

The announcement was the first warning for a full evacuation of the city in the current round of fighting.

Defence minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday that Israel had demolished 30 high-rise buildings in Gaza, which it accused Hamas of using for military infrastructure.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel destroyed at least 50 “terror towers” that he said are used by Hamas.

It was unclear if the towers Katz referred to are in addition to those announced by Netanyahu, who called the demolition of the high-rises “only the introduction, only the beginning of the main intensive operation — the ground incursion of our forces”.

Over recent days, Israel has destroyed multiple high-rise buildings in Gaza City, warning that Hamas has installed surveillance infrastructure in them.

Palestinians take cover during an Israeli strike on a building in Gaza PA Media

The demolitions are part of Israel’s ramping up its offensive to take control of what it portrays as Hamas’s last remaining stronghold, urging Palestinians to flee to a designated humanitarian zone in the territory’s south.

There are around one million Palestinians in the area of Gaza City, though prior to the latest warning, just a small fraction had evacuated.

Military spokesperson Colonel Avichay Adraee warned last week that the evacuation of Gaza City was inevitable, saying families who move southward would receive humanitarian assistance.

But aid groups warned there was little infrastructure to support them.

The war in Gaza was sparked when Hamas-led militants abducted 251 people on October 7, 2023 and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Forty-eight hostages are still inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed to be alive.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,522 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

It says around half of those killed were women and children. Large parts of major cities have been completely destroyed, and around 90% of the population of some two million Palestinians have been displaced.