Israel Continues To Attack Gaza City, Panic Residents Leave Refugee Camps

JAKARTA - The Israeli military expanded operations in Gaza City on Friday as well as bombarded Hamas infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Palestinians who were expelled and traumatized by the attack said they had no way of escaping.

"The situation was really bad. Throughout the night, the tank fired bullets," said Toufic Abu Mouawad, a Palestinian who left the refugee camp for no other purpose.

Israeli forces have taken control of the eastern suburbs of Gaza City and in recent days and hit the Sheikh Radwan and Tel Al-Hawa regions.

From there they will be positioned to advance to the central and western regions, where most of the residents take refuge.

Gaza's health authorities said 33 Palestinians had been killed in the past 24 hours.

On Thursday, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it believed 350,000 people had left Gaza City since early September and some 600,000 people were still living.

Satellite imagery on September 18, which was reviewed by Reuters, showed new tents appeared in the southern region of Gaza City after September 5.

The image also shows a crowd of people on Al Rashid Street and what looks like a vehicle on Jalan Salah al Din.

In leaflets spread in Gaza City, the military has informed Palestinians that they can use the newly reopened Jalan Salah al Din to flee to the south.

The IDF said the airstrikes had killed Mahmoud Yusuf Abu Alkhir, who was identified as deputy head of military intelligence at the Bureij Hamas Battalion.

Alkhir is said to have been involved in a "terrorist attack on Israeli troops and states".

Hamas, a militant group that manages Gaza, sparked a war when it attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and bringing 251 people back to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli data.

The displaced Palestinians, who fled northern Gaza due to Israeli military operations, moved south after Israeli forces ordered the residents of Gaza City to flee to the south.

The families of about 20 survivors pleaded with Netanyahu to stop the attack and instead negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas to free their loved ones.