Half a million residents flee south as Israel intensifies offensive against Hamas strongholds, while civilian casualties mount.
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have pushed deeper into Gaza City as part of an expanded offensive against Hamas, prompting more than half of the city’s estimated one million residents to evacuate to southern Gaza. According to IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin, the military is targeting Hamas’s main strongholds and confronting fighters “both above and below ground.”
The IDF reports that around 550,000 Palestinians have moved to safer zones, with Israel ensuring corridors remain open and thousands of tents and aid supplies waiting at the Kerem Shalom crossing for distribution by the UN and international organizations. Defrin also accused Hamas of obstructing evacuations, firing on UN teams, and seizing humanitarian aid, including trucks carrying baby formula for 2,700 infants.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-controlled health authorities reported that Israeli strikes killed more than 40 people, including 19 women and children, though these figures cannot be independently verified. Casualties included residents of a residential block in southern Gaza City and victims in the Bureij refugee camp. Hospitals are strained as staff contend with both the casualties and damaged infrastructure.
The ongoing conflict traces back to October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led forces invaded southern Israel, killing over 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Israel says it has killed more than 22,000 combatants in Gaza to date, while Hamas claims more than 65,000 deaths in the Strip, though these figures are unverified. Israel emphasizes its efforts to minimize civilian casualties and accuses Hamas of using civilians as human shields.
As the Jewish New Year arrives, IDF forces continue their operations with the dual objectives of dismantling Hamas terror networks and securing the release of the remaining 48 hostages held by Hamas.