From the Liveblog of
Friday, December 1, 2023
IDF says new map splitting Gaza into zones will help residents avoid combat areas
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The IDF has published a map splitting the Gaza Strip into hundreds of small zones, which it will use to notify Palestinian civilians of active combat zones.
It asks Palestinians to pay attention to their area’s number, and follow the IDF’s future updates.
The military may use this map to call on Palestinians from specific areas to evacuate when the IDF’s ground offensive expands to the Strip’s south, instead of demanding mass evacuations as it did in the northern part of Gaza.
“The IDF is operating strongly against terror organizations, while making great efforts to differentiate between civilians and terrorists,” it says in a message to Gazans.
“The people of Gaza are not our enemies. For this reason, as of this morning the IDF is leading controlled and specific evacuations of Gaza residents in order to remove them as much as possible from areas of combat.”
