Israel Says 250,000 Have Fled Gaza City as Airstrikes Kill 32
JERUSALEM, Sept 13 (VoM): The Israeli military said Saturday that more than 250,000 residents have fled Gaza City in recent weeks as the army intensifies its assault on the enclave’s largest urban center.
“According to IDF 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 announcement came as Israeli airstrikes killed at least 32 people across Gaza City overnight, including 12 children, according to medical staff at Shifa Hospital. One strike on a home in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood killed 10 members of a single family, including a mother and three children, health officials said.
In recent days, Israel has escalated its campaign against Hamas in Gaza City, destroying several high-rise buildings it claims were used for surveillance. The army has repeatedly urged civilians to evacuate southward to what it calls a “humanitarian zone.”
Despite the calls, hundreds of thousands remain in Gaza City under worsening famine-like conditions. Many families say they cannot afford the cost of transport and shelter, while others have been displaced multiple times and no longer believe anywhere in Gaza is safe.
The United Nations estimates that more than 100,000 people left Gaza City between mid-August and mid-September, significantly fewer than the IDF’s figures. Aid groups warn that southern Gaza is already overcrowded and unable to absorb more displaced people. The UN says over 86,000 tents and other emergency supplies are still awaiting clearance to enter Gaza.
Friday’s bombardment came just days after Israel struck Hamas leaders in Qatar, raising concerns about the impact on negotiations aimed at ending the war.
Families of the remaining hostages held in Gaza, around 48 people, with about 20 believed to be alive, have urged Israel to halt the offensive, fearing for their relatives’ lives.
@VOice of Malaysia news