Israel orders Palestinians to leave Gaza City, saying those who stay will be considered militants
A much-touted peace plan being brokered by the US is on the table, but Israel continues its offensive in the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza, warning Palestinians to leave Gaza City — “their last opportunity” — and that anyone who stayed would be “considered terrorists” and face “full force”. Israel’s defence minister issued the orders on Wednesday.
At least 16 Palestinians were killed across the territory, according to local hospitals.
Hamas, meanwhile, weighed the proposal from US President Donald Trump aimed at ending the war and returning the remaining captives taken in Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack, which claimed 1,200 lives and triggered the latest Israeli offensive that has killed over 66,000 Palestinians.
Around 400,000 Palestinians have fled the famine-stricken Gaza City since Israel launched a “final assault” in September aimed at occupying it.
Hundreds of thousands remain, many because they cannot afford to leave or are too weak to make the journey to tent camps in the south.
“This is the last opportunity for Gaza residents who wish to do so to move south and leave Hamas terrorists isolated in Gaza City,” Defence minister Israel Katz wrote on X, “Those who remain in Gaza will be (considered) terrorists and terror supporters.”
Shleters continued to be hit. At least seven people, including paramedics, were killed when two Israeli strikes minutes apart hit a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, according to Al-Ahli Hospital, where the casualties were taken.
Five Palestinians were killed later in a strike on people gathered around a drinking water tank elsewhere in Gaza City, the hospital said. Shifa Hospital said a man was killed in a strike on his apartment. Strikes in central Gaza killed another three people, according to Al-Awda Hospital.
Israel continues to state it tries to avoid harming civilians and blames Hamas for their deaths, saying its militants are embedded in populated areas.
Around 90 per cent of Gaza’s population has been displaced in the war, often multiple times, and finding food is a daily struggle for many.
What about Trump’s peace proposal?
On Wednesday, Egypt’s foreign minister Bader Abdelatty said Trump’s proposal requires more negotiations on certain elements, echoing remarks made by Qatar a day earlier.
Hamas said it would study the plan, and it was not clear when it would respond.
Trump had said on Tuesday that Hamas would have three or four days to respond or it will face “all hell”.
Now the comments by Qatar and Egypt, two key mediators, appeared to reflect Arab countries’ discontent over the text of the 20-point plan.
It was put out after Trump and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu announced they had agreed on it on Monday.
The plan has received wide international support. It requires Hamas to release hostages, leave power in Gaza and disarm in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners and an end to fighting. It promises reconstruction in Gaza, placing it and its more than 2 million Palestinians under an international governance structure.