Israeli authorities on Thursday ordered medical facilities and international aid organizations in northern Gaza to prepare for mass evacuations ahead of a sweeping military offensive aimed at conquering Gaza City.
The warning came as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu convened top military officials and senior ministers to finalize plans for the offensive. At the same time, Netanyahu said he had instructed officials to begin “immediate negotiations” for the release of all hostages in Hamas captivity — though his office confirmed no Israeli delegation was being dispatched to mediating countries Egypt or Qatar.
Visiting Khan Younis, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told troops that operations on Gaza City’s outskirts were already underway, with additional forces set to join soon. “Our missions remain the release of the hostages and the defeat of Hamas; we will not rest and will not stop until we complete them,” Zamir said, describing Hamas as reduced from a “terror army” to a guerrilla force.
The campaign — which will likely displace up to a million civilians — has drawn criticsm from international organizations. Philippe Lazzarini, head of the pro-Hamas UNRWA, said children already weakened by hunger “will simply not have the strength to undergo a new displacement,” warning many would not survive. The Red Cross called the planned assault “intolerable,” predicting “more killing, more displacement, more destruction and more panic.”
Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) confirmed officers had begun issuing “initial warnings” to Gaza health and aid officials, advising them to transfer medical equipment south and prepare hospitals in Deir al-Balah and Rafah for an influx of evacuees. “There will be a full evacuation from Gaza City,” an officer told one official in a recorded call released by the IDF. The military said hospital capacity in southern Gaza was being expanded with international support, alongside an increased flow of supplies.
The army has already called up 60,000 reservists under emergency orders and begun positioning five divisions around Gaza City. Netanyahu, backed by Defense Minister Israel Katz, has authority to greenlight operational stages without cabinet approval after ministers earlier this month endorsed a broad plan to seize the city.
But hostage families warned the offensive would destroy chances of a deal to save their loved ones. Bar Goddard, whose father was killed on October 7 and whose body remains in Gaza, accused the government of “sacrificing the hostages” by refusing to respond to Hamas’s acceptance of a ceasefire proposal earlier this week. That plan would pause fighting for 60 days and see roughly half the hostages freed, with talks to follow on the rest. Netanyahu has publicly rejected the outline, insisting only a comprehensive deal to release all captives would be acceptable.
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One Response
What in the heck is this
These people are evil. The hostages are just a pawn in their game. Netanyahu is crazy. Fallow the money he’s the one who put Hamas in there prob