Israel issued a final warning Wednesday for residents to flee Gaza’s main city, as Hamas considered US President Donald Trump’s plan to end nearly two years of war in the Palestinian territory.
Witnesses reported heavy bombardment in Gaza City, as Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army was tightening its encirclement.
“This is the last opportunity for Gaza residents who wish to do so to move south and leave Hamas operatives isolated in Gaza City,” Katz posted on X, warning that those who remained would “be considered terrorists and terrorist supporters”.
Katz said the military had seized the Netzarim corridor, linking central Gaza to the western coast, effectively cutting off the north from the south. Anyone leaving Gaza City would have to pass through Israeli military checkpoints, he added.
Hours earlier, the military announced the closure of the last route for people to travel from southern Gaza to the north.
In Gaza City, 60-year-old Rabah al-Halabi, sheltering in a tent on the grounds of Al-Shifa Hospital, described relentless bombardment.
“I will not leave because the situation in Gaza City is no different from the situation in the southern Gaza Strip,” he told the local media over a telephone.
“All areas are dangerous, the bombing is everywhere, and displacement is terrifying and humiliating. We are waiting for death, or perhaps relief from God and for the truce to come.”
Hamas called Katz’s remarks “a prelude to the escalation of war crimes being committed by his army”.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said intensified military operations had forced it to suspend its activities in Gaza City. Days earlier, Doctors Without Borders also halted operations in the area, where some UN agencies and aid groups still work.
Meanwhile, Hamas was reviewing a peace plan proposed by Trump and endorsed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The proposal calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas’s disarmament and a phased Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
A Palestinian source close to Hamas leaders told that “no final decision” had been made and the group would “likely need two to three days”. The source said Hamas sought amendments to clauses on disarmament and expulsion, as well as “international guarantees” for a full Israeli withdrawal.
Gaza’s civil defence agency, operating under Hamas authority, said Israeli strikes killed at least 46 people across the territory on Wednesday, including 36 in Gaza City. It reported that eight people were killed in a strike on a school shelter. The Israeli military said it targeted “a Hamas terrorist” and had taken “steps… to mitigate harm to civilians as much as possible”.
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Fadel al-Jadba, 26, said he too would remain in Gaza City. “We want a ceasefire at any cost because we are frustrated, exhausted, and find no one in the world standing with us,” he said.
Late Wednesday, the Israeli military reported that five projectiles were launched from Gaza into Israel. Four were intercepted, while one landed in an open area.
Trump told reporters Tuesday that Hamas had “about three or four days” to accept his 20-point Gaza plan, warning the group would “pay in hell” if it refused.
A source close to talks in Doha said “two opinions exist within Hamas”. One supports unconditional approval of Trump’s plan to prioritise a ceasefire under international guarantees. The other rejects disarmament and expulsion clauses, favouring conditional approval with revisions that align with Hamas’s demands.
Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s subsequent offensive has killed at least 66,148 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry, whose figures are considered reliable by the UN. More than half of the dead are women and children.
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