Israeli Military Calls for Full Evacuation of Gaza City

Israel has struck high-rise buildings in Gaza City, saying they were used by Hamas.

People search for salvage at the mound of rubble at the site of the collapsed Sussi Tower, which was destroyed earlier by Israeli bombardment, in Gaza City on Sept. 6, 2025. Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images

The Israeli military called for a full evacuation of Gaza City on Sept. 9, urging residents to move to the southern areas of the territory as its offensive intensified.

Israel Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a social media post that the military would “act with great force in the area,” and warned that remaining in Gaza City is “extremely dangerous.”

In a separate post on X, he urged “all residents of Gaza City and those present in all its neighborhoods, from the Old City and Al-Tuffah in the east to the sea in the west” to evacuate immediately to Al-Mawasi, an area in southern Gaza that Israel has designated as a humanitarian zone.

The announcement followed Israeli strikes on high-rise buildings in Gaza City in recent days. The IDF said the buildings were part of terrorist infrastructure used by Hamas for planting explosives, installing intelligence-gathering equipment, and positioning observation posts.

The strikes are part of an expanded military offensive in the enclave, after Israel approved plans to seize control of Gaza City despite international criticism.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sept. 9 that “a hurricane strike hit Gaza yesterday with unprecedented force,” adding that 30 multi-storey “terror buildings” were destroyed along with dozens of other targets.

“If Hamas terrorists do not lay down their weapons and release all the hostages—they will be destroyed and Gaza will be devastated,” Katz said on X.

A day earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had already brought down 50 high-rise buildings in Gaza, adding that the air campaign was “only the beginning” ahead of a ground incursion into Gaza City.

It was not immediately clear whether the towers Katz referred to were in addition to those mentioned by Netanyahu.

Last month, Katz warned that Gaza City could face destruction similar to Rafah and Beit Hanoun unless Hamas disarmed and released hostages. He said the government had approved IDF plans involving “intense fire, evacuation of residents, and manoeuvring.”

The war in Gaza was sparked when Hamas-led terrorists abducted 251 people on Oct. 7, 2023, from Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Forty-eight hostages are still inside Gaza, around 20 of them believed to be alive.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 64,000 people have been killed since the start of the war. The ministry does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in the count.

The Epoch Times cannot verify the accuracy of the figure.

Humanitarian Situation

The IDF has designated humanitarian areas in Khan Younis and Al-Mawasi, in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, to accommodate evacuees.

The IDF said facilities there include field hospitals, desalination plants, food and medicine distribution, and water pipelines, in coordination with international organizations and the United Nations.

The Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), which is an official Israeli government unit tasked with the coordination and facilitation of humanitarian initiatives in the West Bank and Gaza, said on Sept. 4 that thousands of tents and shelter equipment had entered Gaza and that tens of thousands more were expected “in the coming days.”

The United Nations has warned of worsening conditions.

Stphane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, said on Sept. 8 that “over 80 percent of Gaza is either under displacement orders or within militarized areas designated by Israel.”

Dujarric, citing the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that with the Israeli military instructing people to move from parts of Gaza City to the south, people were in dire need of food, water, and shelter items.

“You will have seen that over the weekend, our Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, demanded urgent action to halt the spread of famine and suffering in Gaza,” Dujarric said. “He warned that there is a narrow window, until the end of September, to prevent famine from expanding to Deir al Balah and Khan Younis and that this window is closing fast.”

COGAT said that nearly 280 aid trucks and fuel tankers entered Gaza, with more than 280 already distributed by the U.N. and international groups. It added that hundreds more were awaiting pickup on the Gaza side, and pledged to expand efforts to facilitate humanitarian relief.

Statehood Dispute

The expansion of Israel’s military operations in Gaza City comes as the Israeli government reaffirms its conditions for ending the war.

These include the disarmament of Hamas, the release of hostages, continued Israeli security control in Gaza, and the creation of a civilian administration unaffiliated with either Hamas or the Palestinian Authority.

Israel has condemned plans by France, the UK, Canada, Belgium, and Australia, among others, to recognize a Palestinian state in September.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Sept. 9 criticized the moves as destabilizing and an incentive for Hamas to prolong the war.

He urged world leaders to stand with Israel against jihadist groups and rejected international efforts to advance Palestinian statehood, arguing that the Palestinian Authority supports terrorism and does not merit recognition.

Sa’ar’s comments followed an attack at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem on Sept. 8, which killed six people.

Visiting the scene, Netanyahu said that Israel was at war with terrorism. He said the murders and attacks would not weaken the country but would instead strengthen its determination to complete its mission “in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, and everywhere.”