The Israeli army stepped up attacks across Gaza on Tuesday, ordering residents to evacuate northern parts of the enclave, which Israeli authorities have labelled a “dangerous war zone”, Arab media reported.
Israeli army spokesman Avichay Adraee urged residents of Beit Lahiya, on the northern edge of Gaza, to go to designated hiding places in social network X, saying Israel was continuing with plans for ‘decisive action against terrorist infrastructure and subversive elements’ in the region.
The order came some four months after Israeli defence officials said Hamas militants were no longer in control of the area.
The reported intensification of strikes in southern and central Gaza came amid Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s threats to invade Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost city, where some 1.5 million displaced civilians, mostly in makeshift camps, have taken refuge.
In Khan Younis, 8 kilometres north of Rafah, the Associated Press reported the erection of a new complex of tents, possibly to shelter displaced civilians fleeing an expected attack on Rafah. AP cited an official representing Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry who said the tent complex was being set up to house civilians currently sheltering in a hospital.
On Tuesday, Western diplomats called on Hamas to release the hostages it still holds in the Gaza Strip. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said on X:
200 days ago, Hamas carried out the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. 200 days on, hostages remain in captivity, and their loved ones continue to face unimaginable suffering.
Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, killing about 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages, according to Israeli estimates. Israel’s response killed at least 34,183 Palestinians and injured more than 77,000, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The Israeli military said on Tuesday that its forces carried out airstrikes overnight that destroyed two Hamas rocket launching positions in the southern Gaza Strip. Ground forces also continued to operate in central Gaza, and airstrikes killed dozens of militants across Gaza.
Israeli forces killed at least two Hezbollah militants in a series of strikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon, the military said on Tuesday. A video emerged on social media showing a car travelling on a road exploding as a result of the strike.
