From the Liveblog of
Sunday, October 13, 2024
IDF tanks reach north edge of Gaza City amid renewed push against Hamas, residents say
Israeli forces widened their raid into northern Gaza, and tanks reached the north edge of Gaza City, pounding some districts of the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood, residents say, forcing many families to leave their homes.
Residents say Israeli forces have effectively isolated Beit Hanoun, Jabalia and Beit Lahiya in the far north of the enclave from Gaza City, blocking access between the two areas except upon their permission for families willing to leave the three towns, heeding evacuation orders.
The IDF recently launched a fresh ground offensive in north Gaza to prevent Hamas from reestablishing itself.
Israel estimates that tens of thousands of Palestinians have remained in northern Gaza throughout the last year of fighting, despite repeated calls for them to evacuate to designated humanitarian zones. It believes that among those who remained there are thousands of Hamas operatives who survived previous rounds of fighting with Israeli forces.
To that end, the IDF issued new evacuation orders over the weekend to two neighborhoods on the northern edge of Gaza City, saying that the area was a “dangerous combat zone.” It urged residents to evacuate their homes and head to safe areas in the south.
The Hamas-run interior ministry, however, instructed civilians to ignore the call to relocate to other areas in the north of the Strip, and also to avoid heading south “where the occupation is conducting continued bombing and killing every day in the areas it claims to be safe.”
The IDF has for years accused Hamas of using human shields and embedding its operatives deep within the civilian population to protect itself amid fighting with Israel, and says that it seeks to avoid civilian casualties.
