(Photo credit: AP)
An Israeli military spokesperson on Wednesday said that the evacuation of Gaza City was “inevitable” as troops prepared to capture the Palestinian territory’s largest city.”The evacuation of Gaza City is inevitable, and therefore, every family that relocates to the south will receive the most generous humanitarian aid, which is currently being worked on,” the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee posted on X.The statement came as Israel intensified operations on the outskirts of Gaza City to dismantle Hamas infrastructure above and below ground. Nearly a million people are believed to be living in Gaza governorate, according to the UN, which has warned of famine and called the evacuation plan dangerous and unrealistic.Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is set to host a White House meeting on post-war plans for Gaza, even as Israel faces growing domestic and international pressure to end its nearly two-year campaign, AFP reported.Mediators have circulated a draft ceasefire and hostage release deal, already accepted by Hamas, but Israel has yet to give a formal response. The proposal includes a staggered release of hostages over 60 days in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.Earlier, tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Tel Aviv on Tuesday demanding an end to the war and a deal to free hostages. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, vowed to press ahead, saying, “I will say one thing: it started in Gaza and it will end in Gaza. We will not leave those monsters there.”He also ordered the immediate negotiations aimed at securing the release of all remaining captives, while also doubling down on the plan to seize Gaza City last week.The conflict erupted after Hamas’s October 2023 attack, which killed 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli figures. Since then, most of Gaza’s population has been displaced at least once, with aid groups warning the humanitarian crisis is worsening by the day.
