‘Distance yourself from Hamas’: Israeli military tells Gazans; Hamas asks to ignore evacuation order

Gazan citizens have found themselves in a horrifying spot amid the Israel-Hamas war. While the Israeli military has asked them to put some distance between themselves and Hamas militants, the latter have asked them to ignore the evacuation order. 

The Israeli military told Gazans that Hamas is using them as human shields, as it amassed tanks near the border. “Civilians of Gaza City, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families and distance yourself from Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields. In the following days, the IDF will continue to operate significantly in Gaza City and make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians,” the Israeli Defense Forces said in a post on X. 

It asked Gazans to move southwards and move to the area south of Wadi Gaza. It said that Gaza city is an area where military operations will take place. “This evacuation is for your own safety. You will be able to return to Gaza City only when another announcement permitting it is made. Do not approach the area of the security fence with the State of Israel. Hamas terrorists are hiding in Gaza City inside tunnels underneath houses and inside buildings populated with innocent Gazan civilians,” it said. 

Meanwhile, according to a report in Times of Israel, Hamas is preventing residents of the north of the strop from evacuating to the south. A Gazan man told the news site that when Hamas finds people going to their cars, they force them to go back. 

The source also told the news site that many residents are not planning to evacuate as they believe they do not have anywhere to go in the south of the enclave. 

The UN has also asked the Israeli military to take back the mass relocation order to avoid a “calamitous situation”. "The UN considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences," it said. The UN has moved its operations to southern Gaza stating that the order would be applicable to UN staff members and those sheltered in UN facilities. 

The World Health Organization also informed local Gaza authorities that it was impossible to evacuate vulnerable hospital patients from northern Gaza. WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said that there are “severely ill people whose injuries mean their only chances of survival is being on life support”. Moving them would be like a death sentence, said the spokesperson. 

(With Reuters inputs)

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