Israel army says over 250,000 residents have left Gaza City

The Israeli military said Saturday that more than 250,000 people have left Gaza City for other parts of the territory over the past few weeks, since it intensified its assault on Gaza’s largest urban centre.

“According to IDF (military) estimates, more than a quarter of a million residents of Gaza City have moved out of the city for their own safety,” the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Colonel Avichay Adraee said on X.

The United Nations estimates that about one million Palestinians live in and around Gaza City.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify details provided by the military.

On Saturday, the Israeli military dropped leaflets urging residents in western districts to evacuate, as Gaza’s civil defence agency reported continuous air strikes.

“The Israeli army is operating with very intense force in your area and is determined to dismantle and defeat Hamas,” the leaflet read.

“For your safety, evacuate immediately via Al-Rashid Street to the south of Wadi Gaza. You have been warned.”

In recent weeks the military has primarily targeted high-rise buildings, claiming they were being used by Hamas.

The United Nations and members of the international community have warned against the military’s assault to worsen the already dire humanitarian situation and famine in Gaza City.

According to the civil defence agency, Israeli strikes killed five people since dawn Saturday.

On Friday, at least 50 people were killed across the territory, the civil defence agency said.

“Every night we go to sleep not knowing if we will wake up alive,” Gaza City resident Umm Anas al-Ashqar told AFP.

“The bombing around us never stops… We stayed in our house because we have nowhere else to go… This is not life. Death would be easier than this.”