Palestinians flee as Israel masses troops for assault given end of Gaza deadline

A six-hour window issued by the military ordering Palestinian civilians to finish evacuating from Gaza City to the southern part of the strip ended at 4 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET) yesterday.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told residents to move towards the Gaza Valley, in a message posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. It is unclear how widely the messaging has been received on the ground given the current electricity and internet blackout.

The order from the Israeli military came a day after it told 1.1 million people living in northern Gaza to evacuate their homes.

The IDF has saturated the border with troops and military equipment amid a relentless onslaught on the territory, in retaliation to a large-scale incursion by the militant group Hamas on October 7.

Earlier, yesterday, IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Richard Hecht said Israel’s air, land and sea blockade on Gaza will continue into a seventh day.

“We are preparing for the next stages,” he added, but shared no information if that could be a ground incursion and when.

The IDF’s Arabic spokesperson, Avishay Adraee, said the military will permit safe movement on specified streets between the hours of 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time (3 – 9 a.m. ET).
Residents were advised to use this window to move southward from Beit Hanoun to Khan Yunis.

Additionally, residents of the Al-Shate, Al-Rimal and West Al-Zaytoun areas are “permitted to move” along Daldul and Al-Sana streets towards Salah Al-Din and Al-Bahr streets, Adraee said.
Israel launched a complete blockade on food, fuel and water entering Gaza on Monday. Human Rights Watch (HRW) criticized Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s call for a complete siege on Monday as a form of “collective punishment” and a “war crime.”

Thinning electricity supplies have severely damaged communication along the strip. In an interview with CNN, IDF Spokesperson, Maj. (Res.) Doron Spielman said the IDF is dropping leaflets about the new safe passages, given most people in Gaza City don’t have internet access now.

However, CNN has talked to a United Nations Relief and Works Agency school official, a paramedic and a journalist on the ground who were all unaware of this latest advisory.