‘Leave now’: Netanyahu orders evacuation as Gaza City faces intensified assault

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday urged residents of Gaza City to evacuate immediately, as the Israeli military escalated its offensive on the densely populated urban centre.

The warning came as Israeli forces continued heavy bombardments in preparation for a full-scale ground operation to take control of the city — despite mounting calls from Western governments and humanitarian agencies to halt the campaign.

According to an AFP report, citing Gaza’s civil defence agency, at least 39 people were killed in Israeli strikes across the territory on Monday, including 25 in Gaza City alone.

Netanyahu’s message followed one of the deadliest incidents in Jerusalem since the war began, when two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a bus stop, killing six people.

The attackers were shot dead at the scene by a security officer and an armed civilian, police said.

Following the attack, Netanyahu said: “Let it be clear: these murders strengthen our determination to fight terrorism.”

Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, had told Hamas earlier on Monday to lay down its arms or face annihilation.

“This is a final warning to the Hamas murderers and rapists in Gaza and in luxury hotels abroad: Release the hostages and put down your weapons – or Gaza will be destroyed and you will be annihilated,” he said on X.

On Monday, Israeli forces targeted a fourth high-rise building in Gaza City in as many days, with AFP footage showing the Al-Ruya tower crashing to the ground moments after being struck.

Israel said Hamas had used the tower for intelligence gathering and planted explosives in it. It had earlier warned residents and those nearby to evacuate.

“In two days we brought down 50 terror towers, and this is only the opening stage of the intensified ground manoeuvre in Gaza City. I say to the residents: you have been warned, leave now!” AFP quoted Netanyahu as saying in a video statement.

“All of this is just a prelude, just the opening, to the main intensified operation – the ground manoeuvre of our forces, who are now organising and assembling to enter Gaza City,” he added.

Israel has faced mounting international pressure to halt its campaign in Gaza, with United Nations rights chief Volker Turk saying Monday he was “horrified by the open use of genocidal rhetoric… by senior Israeli officials”.

Ready to negotiate

Trump said Sunday that “the Israelis have accepted my terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well. I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning”.

Hamas said shortly after that it was ready to “immediately sit at the negotiating table” following what it described as “some ideas from the American side aimed at reaching a ceasefire agreement”.

Hamas said it wanted “a clear declaration of the end of the war, a full withdrawal (of Israeli forces) from the Gaza Strip, and the formation of a committee of independent Palestinians to manage the Gaza Strip, which would begin its duties immediately”.

US news outlet Axios reported that White House envoy Steve Witkoff sent a new proposal for a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal to Hamas last week.

The White House has not released any details about the proposal, but Trump said “you’ll be hearing about it pretty soon”.

Hamas agreed last month to a ceasefire proposal that involved a 60-day truce and staggered hostage releases.

Israel, however, has demanded the militant group release all the hostages at once, disarm and relinquish control of Gaza, among other conditions.

The Israeli military says 47 hostages remain in Gaza, including 25 believed to be dead.

Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,522 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

With inputs from agencies