Israel army says over 250,000 residents have left Gaza City
The Israeli military said Saturday that more than 250,000
people have left Gaza City for other parts of the territory over the past few
weeks, since it intensified its assault on Gaza's largest urban centre.
"According to IDF (military) estimates, more than a
quarter of a million residents of Gaza City have moved out of the city for
their own safety," the military's Arabic-language spokesman Colonel
Avichay Adraee said on X.
The United Nations estimates that about one million
Palestinians live in and around Gaza City.
Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing
many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify details provided by the
military or tolls reported by the Palestinian territory's civil defence agency.
On Saturday, the Israeli military dropped leaflets urging
residents in western districts to evacuate, as Gaza's civil defence agency
reported continuous air strikes.
"The Israeli army is operating with very intense force
in your area and is determined to dismantle and defeat Hamas," the leaflet
read.
"For your safety, evacuate immediately via Al-Rashid
Street to the south of Wadi Gaza. You have been warned."
Israel has come under mounting international pressure to
halt its offensive, but says it is determined to dismantle Hamas in what it
describes as one of the group's last strongholds.
In recent weeks the military has primarly targeted
high-rise buildings, saying they were being used by Hamas.
The United Nations and members of the international
community have warned against the military's assault for fear it will worsen
the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza City, where the UN has declared
a famine.
According to the civil defence agency, Israeli strikes
killed five people since dawn Saturday.
On Friday, at least 50 people were killed across the
territory, the civil defence agency said.
"Every night we go to sleep not knowing if we will
wake up alive," Gaza City resident Umm Anas al-Ashqar told AFP.
"The bombing around us never stops... We stayed in our
house because we have nowhere else to go... This is not life. Death would be
easier than this."