IDF says troops pushing deeper into Gaza City while still allowing civilians to evacuate south

By Emanuel Fabian

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21 September 2025, 7:54 pm

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Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

In an English-language video statement, IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin says the military has moved deeper into Gaza City as it expands its offensive against Hamas.

“Our operations against Hamas have moved deeper into Gaza City, targeting their main stronghold. We are engaged in combat, facing terrorists both above and below ground,” Defrin says.

He says that “Israel continues to ensure that corridors remain open for civilians to move south, toward safer areas. Until now, 550,000 people have moved south.”

“The IDF is continuing to enhance the humanitarian area and encourage residents to leave the combat zones. At Kerem Shalom crossing, thousands of tents and supplies are waiting right now for collection by the UN and international organizations. We call on the international organizations to take this aid and deliver it directly to the Gazan people. In recent weeks alone, Israel has enabled the entry of over 24,000 tents into Gaza. Israel is ensuring civilians can keep out of harm’s way, enabling access to food, shelter, and medicine,” he says.

Defrin notes that this week, “Hamas opened fire on a UN team, and used stolen UN vehicles to block the construction of a new road for future aid trucks,” as well as “robbed four UNICEF aid trucks at gunpoint — depriving 2,700 infants of baby formula.”

“Hamas continues to violently obstruct civilians from evacuating combat zones. Hamas doesn’t protect Gazans; they sacrifice them,” he says.

“Hamas has shown the world its true strategy: to exploit its own people and prolong this war. That strategy will not succeed,” Defrin says.

He says the IDF has “no other choice but to fight for our future. Our forces are working day and night, turning over every stone, to bring our hostages home, dismantle Hamas’s terror networks, and secure a safer region for all.”

“As the Jewish New Year arrives, 48 hostages remain in the grip of Hamas. Their captivity is an unfinished chapter of this war — and we will not close it until they are home. We have no other choice,” he adds.