The Israeli military has warned relentlessly bombarded Palestinians that Gaza’s north remains a “combat zone”, telling its residents to move south, after United States President Donald Trump demanded Israel “stop bombing” the enclave when Hamas partially accepted his ceasefire plan.
In a statement on X, the Israeli army said on Saturday that the area north of Wadi Gaza, which includes decimated Gaza City, is “still considered a dangerous combat zone” and called on residents there to move south via Rashid Street, the coastal route. It added that Israeli forces continue to surround Gaza City and “attempts to return there pose a significant risk.”
Southern Gaza is packed with hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians living in overcrowded enclaves, hoping to be able to return to the north.
“We were waiting for this good news. We were waiting for Hamas to accept and for our lives to become as nice as it was before, or even better,” a displaced Palestinian speaking from Nuseirat in central Gaza told Al Jazeera. “We hope for more good news to come, we hope to return to Gaza City,” he said, without sharing his name.
The continuous bombardment of Gaza City has razed the territory’s largest urban centre, killing dozens of people daily, destroying numerous residential buildings and schools, and forcing tens of thousands of Palestinians to flee to an unknown fate to the south, often while being attacked en route.
Since mid-August, when Israeli troops launched a new punishing assault on Gaza City, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded more than 400,000 movements from northern to southern Gaza, mainly to Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis.
This exodus of forced relocation intensified as the Israeli army started flattening dozens of high-rise buildings in early September, followed by a mass displacement order to the whole of Gaza City on September 9.
The Israeli army warning comes after Hamas said late on Friday that it had agreed to certain provisions of the White House’s 20-point plan, including the release of all captives. Other elements would need further negotiations, the Palestinian group said. Its response was welcomed by Trump and world leaders, despite major sticking points remaining – such as the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the enclave and Hamas’s disarmament.
In a statement in the early hours of Saturday, the Israeli army said the chief of staff had ordered to “advance readiness” for implementing the first phase of Trump’s plan for the release of all captives. While it was not clear what that meant in terms of military actions, Israeli media reported that Israeli troops had shifted to solely defensive operations.
Still, aerial attacks across Gaza continued earlier on Saturday but were sharply less intense. At least seven people have been killed since dawn, medical sources told Al Jazeera.
