‘A dangerous combat zone’: IDF warns Palestinians against trying to return to Gaza City after military halts offensive operations

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

Palestinians carrying belongings arrive on a coastal path northwest of Nuseirat refugee camp as they are displaced southward from the Wadi Gaza area on October 1, 2025.  (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
Palestinians carrying belongings arrive on a coastal path northwest of Nuseirat refugee camp as they are displaced southward from the Wadi Gaza area on October 1, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)

The IDF warns Palestinians against returning to Gaza City or approaching troops in all parts of Gaza, as the military has paused offensive operations in the Strip.

“IDF troops are still encircling Gaza City, and returning there is very dangerous,” says the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee, adding that the area north of the Wadi Gaza stream is a “dangerous combat zone.”

“For your safety, avoid returning north or approaching areas where IDF troops are operating anywhere in the Strip — even in its south,” he adds.

The IDF paused offensive maneuvers in Gaza City amid a push by US President Donald Trump to bring about an end to the war, but it is still conducting defensive operations in the Strip, including airstrikes against threats to forces.

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