More than 350,000 Palestinians have so far evacuated Gaza City to other areas of the Strip, according to IDF estimates from last night.
Thousands more are estimated to have left the city overnight amid a heavy wave of airstrikes, a defense source says.
The source says that the rate of Palestinian civilians leaving Gaza City will likely increase as the IDF’s ground offensive against Hamas, which aims to conquer the city, progresses.
Around one million Palestinians were estimated to be residing in Gaza City before the IDF began to prepare for the offensive. Last week, the IDF ordered Palestinians in all areas of Gaza City to evacuate immediately ahead the offensive.
Civilians have been instructed to head for an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in the Strip’s south.
Overnight, the military carried out intensive airstrikes in Gaza City, according to Palestinian media.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, September 16, 2025
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
