GAZA, JERUSALEM and LONDON — Israel on Tuesday issued an order calling for residents of Gaza Metropolis to evacuate, saying the Israeli army will function “with nice power” inside the metropolis.
“Staying within the metropolis is extraordinarily harmful,” Avichay Adraee, a spokesperson for the Israel Protection Forces, mentioned on social media.
Displaced Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza carry their belongings alongside the coastal street towards southern Gaza, Tuesday, Sept. 9, 2025, after the Israeli military issued evacuation orders from Gaza Metropolis.
Jehad Alshrafi/AP
The order and warnings adopted an approval by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s authorities of a plan to grab Gaza Metropolis, the biggest metropolis within the under-siege enclave. Israel started ground operations inside the metropolis a couple of week in the past.
Israeli officers mentioned the deliberate seizure is a part of its army goal to get rid of Hamas, the terrorist group that it has been preventing in Gaza since October 2023.
Folks watch as leaflets dropped by the Israeli army, urging evacuation south to al-Mawasi, land in Gaza Metropolis on September 9, 2025.
Omar Al-qattaa/AFP through Getty Photos
Regardless of the extreme scenario and evacuation warnings, there are nonetheless a big variety of residents who stay within the metropolis who’ve cited completely different causes for staying, together with not having the ability to afford the prices of evacuation and transportation.
Others advised ABC Information they’ve stayed as a result of they’ve heard there is a extreme scarcity of area for tents within the humanitarian zone — or that they do not know if they’d be secure after an evacuation.
Adraee mentioned residents of Gaza Metropolis and “all its neighorhoods” ought to evacuate instantly. They need to journey south towards Al-Mawasi, a coastal space that is been designated as a humanitarian zone, he mentioned.
The evacuation order adopted a warning issued on Monday by Netanyahu. In a video message posted on Telegram, he spoke on to the residents of the town.
“Pay attention rigorously: You may have been warned,” Netanyahu mentioned. “Depart now.”
