Tens of thousands of Palestinians have begun fleeing Gaza City, while the Jewish state reportedly prepares to stop humanitarian aid in preparation for its plan to stomp out Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to stop airdrops over the Palestinian enclave in the coming days and reduce the arrival of aid trucks into the northern part of the Strip, a report from KAN, Israel’s public broadcaster, said, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The moves, along with increased Israeli military airstrikes, are part of a military operation to clear the way for the evacuation of 1 million Palestinians out of Gaza City ahead of a planned full-scale takeover in mid-September.
The United Nations estimated 23,000 Palestinians fled Gaza City this week. ZUMAPRESS.comCaravans of Palestinians have already been seen heading south from Gaza’s largest city.
An estimated 23,000 people have fled over the past week, the United Nations reported Thursday.
The news comes a day after Israel declared Gaza City a “dangerous combat zone,” calling it a Hamas stronghold.
Seven Israeli soldiers were wounded Saturday when their armored truck ran over an explosive device in north Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighborhood, military officials said, according to the Times of Israel.
Hamas has warned that Israeli hostages are being held alongside the terror group’s own fighters in Gaza City — and risk being caught in the crossfire — as Israel intensifies preparations for its full-scale invasion.
Many Palestinians have fled south from Gaza City amid intensifying military operations there in the last few days. AFP via Getty Images“They will remain with our fighters in the places of confrontation, exposed to the same risks,” Hamas military wing spokesperson Abu Obeida said, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The spokesperson also warned that the IDF’s operation will increase the chances of their soldiers being captured by Hamas.
Obeida threatened that the terror group is on high alert and will teach the Israeli military a “harsh lesson.”
Israeli has called up 60,000 army reservists ahead of its planned takeover of Gaza City. Getty ImagesHamas also threatened to publish the name of every hostage and their photograph that is allegedly killed by the IDF during the takeover.
Forty-eight hostages remain held by Hamas in Gaza, around 20 of whom are still thought to be alive.
Thousands of Israelis rallied Saturday evening for a deal that brings the hostages home. AFP via Getty ImagesMeanwhile, Israeli defense chiefs are reportedly set to urge ministers at a security cabinet meeting Sunday to back the current cease-fire and hostage-release proposal Hamas has recently accepted, instead of the Gaza City offensive, according to Israeli TV’s Channel 12.
Israel had agreed to a similar cease-fire deal back in May, but the terror group balked at the US-backed proposal.
The protestors take to the streets every Saturday to call for an end to the war. AFP via Getty ImagesNetanyahu said he is now committed to eradicating Hamas and freeing all the remaining hostages in order to end the war.
Hostage families again took to the streets Saturday night demanding the Israeli government reach a cease-fire deal to bring them home.
“Netanyahu, if another living hostage comes back in a bag, it will not only be the hostages and their families who pay the price,” Zahiro Shahar Mor, nephew of hostage Avraham Munder, said at the Tel Aviv rally.
“You will bear responsibility for premeditated murder.”
