Israel orders Gaza City evacuation ultimatum
Strikes kill civilians as 400,000 flee but many remain trapped
Israel’s defense minister issued an ultimatum for all remaining residents of Gaza City to move south, warning that anyone who stays will be treated as a terrorist supporter and face the full force of Israel’s latest offensive. The order came as at least 16 Palestinians were killed in a series of strikes that hit a school shelter, a water‑tank crowd, a private apartment and a tent at Al‑Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al‑Balah. More than three dozen people were wounded in the school attack, and dozens of others were injured in the tent strike; the death toll includes first‑responders and civilians of all ages.
Since Israel’s major ground operation began last month, roughly 400,000 Palestinians have fled the famine‑stricken city, but hundreds of thousands remain because they lack the means or strength to travel to tent camps in the south. The health ministry, run by Hamas, reports the war has killed over 66,000 Palestinians and wounded nearly 170,000, with women and children comprising about half of the dead. Israel maintains it tries to avoid civilian casualties and blames Hamas for embedding fighters in populated areas; the Israeli military said seven rockets were launched from Gaza, all intercepted or landing in open ground.
The strikes occurred amid diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. U.S. President Donald Trump’s 20‑point plan, endorsed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calls for Hamas to release hostages, disarm and cede power in exchange for Palestinian prisoner releases, humanitarian aid and reconstruction under international oversight, but it offers no path to Palestinian statehood. Hamas said it would study the proposal; Egypt and Qatar, key mediators, said further negotiations are needed. The Palestinian Authority and several Arab states have welcomed the plan, while other factions remain skeptical.
Humanitarian conditions are deteriorating. The International Committee of the Red Cross suspended its Gaza‑City operations and relocated staff south. A flotilla of about 50 vessels, the Global Sumud Flotilla, set sail from Barcelona aiming to break Israel’s maritime blockade; organizers expect Israeli interception, and two ships reported harassment by warships overnight.
The Government Media Office in Gaza announced that a number of Palestinians were injured in the Israeli army’s shelling of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, putting the lives of more than 70 journalists and media personnel at risk.
