'Don't Leave Your Homes': Hamas Tells Gaza Residents After Israel's Evacuation Alert

TEL AVIV: Palestinian terror group Hamas has asked the residents of Gaza not to leave their homes after Israel cautioned them to move towards the southern part of Gaza as the ongoing war entered its seventh day on Friday. Hamas, the group running the Gaza Strip, said the Israeli army’s evacuation warning was “fake propaganda”.

The Hamas Authority for Refugee Affairs also told residents in the north to “remain steadfast in your homes and to stand firm in the face of this disgusting psychological war waged by the occupation”.

Sharing a major update, the Israeli Defense Force cited CNN and claimed that the Palestinian terror group wants Gaza residents to use them as a human shield.

The IDF is calling for the evacuation of all civilians of Gaza City from their homes southward for their own safety and protection.

Hamas is telling Gaza residents to ignore our safety instructions. pic.twitter.com/hKUkSJ5p0g

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 13, 2023

The Israeli Army earlier ordered the evacuation of all civilians living in Gaza City and in the north of the Gaza Strip ahead of a feared ground offensive on the besieged enclave.

The directive came on Friday on the heels of what the United Nations said was a warning they received from Israel to evacuate 1.1 million people living in the north of Gaza within 24 hours. 

The order, which comes on the seventh day of a war and “total blockade” declared by Israel following an unprecedented Hamas incursion and deadly attack, directed residents of Gaza City to flee deeper south into the Gaza Strip, a narrow coastal territory that is home to about 2.3 million people.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) also informed the United Nations about the Gaza evacuation move and the 24-hour deadline set for them. This notification gave a strong indication of a possible ground invasion by the IDF. Approximately 1.1 million Palestinians reside north of Wadi Gaza, making this call for relocation a significant move.

The IDF attributed this relocation order to the presence of Hamas operatives concealed in tunnels beneath Gaza City. They issued a statement to the residents of Gaza, emphasizing personal safety and urging them to distance themselves from Hamas terrorists who manipulate them as human shields. "Residents of Gaza, move south for your personal safety and your families. Distance yourself from the Hamas terrorists who use you as a human shield. IDF will continue to operate significantly in Gaza City in the coming days, and wishes to avoid harming civilians," stated the Israeli Defence Force.

Hamas Using Civilians As Human Shields

The Israel Defence Forces spokesperson Johnathan Conricus confirmed the evacuation advisory for Gaza residents to move to the southern part of the Strip and separate themselves from the Hamas terrorists, stating that "they are using them as human shields."

Conricus emphasized that the IDF would maintain significant operations in Gaza City, aiming to minimize civilian casualties. He stated, "The aim here is to minimize the damage to civilians. There are significant combat operations ongoing, and we are preparing for the future and the continuance of our combat operations. Out of an understanding that there are civilians here who are not our enemy and we do not want to target them, we are asking them to evacuate so that we will be able to continue to strike military targets belonging to Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The IDF remains fully committed to the law of international conflict. We will carry ourselves accordingly in sharp contrast to the enemies around us and to Hamas, which is in total disregard of anything related to values, norms and definitely not the laws of armed conflict."

More than 1,500 people – about half of them children and women – have been killed in relentless Israeli bombardment on Gaza since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, in a surprise operation that killed more than 1,300 people in Israel.