Palestinians given 24 hours to evacuate ahead of ground offensive

Palestinians are trying to flee northern Gaza today after Israel gave one million civilians just 24 hours to evacuate their homes and travel South.

The edict  – for a movement of people of historic proportions – applies to all those living north of the Wadi Gaza bridge, roughly half the population of the Gaza Strip. The IDF has ordered them to move South of the Gaza river “for their protection.”

Hamas is urging residents not to go – and “to stand firm in the face of this disgusting psychological war.” 

One reason Hamas wants civilians to stay is so that it can continue to use them as human shields. As Dr Daphné Richemond-Barak from the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism points out, once Hamas knows a strike is imminent, it will often put innocent civilians on top of buildings. “That has forced Israel to cancel strikes many times.”

Some Gazans will likely stay put, for fear of never being able to return if they go. Others cannot go – it will be impossible, for instance, to evacuate the wounded from hospitals. Others will attempt to flee but the exodus will be chaotic and fraught with danger. 

The distance from north of Gaza City to the southern half of the territory isn’t far – around 14km. But the majority of Gazans don’t have cars, there is only one main north to south road and there is also no sign that Israeli air strikes have stopped to allow an evacuation to start. The order includes the whole of Gaza City and two major refugee camps, Jabalya and Beach Camp, some of the most densely populated places on the planet. 

Even for those who do make it to the South, it’s unclear where they will go. The southern Rafah crossing – the only land exit from Gaza to Egypt – is coming under Israeli fire. And even if it wasn’t, Egypt – which is contending with an influx of 280,000 refugees from neighbouring Sudan – has been categorical in its refusal to accept refugees from Gaza. Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian president, has said Gazans should “stay steadfast and remain on their land”.

Some Arab countries as well as the US – whose top envoy, Anthony Blinken, is visiting Egypt this weekend – are putting pressure on Sisi to reconsider. 

The IDF has told civilians: “You will be able to return to Gaza City only when another announcement permitting it is made.” Though many of those fleeing will be doubtful if they will ever return – or if there will be any home for them to come back to.  

Huge uncertainty and risk looms too for Israeli troops stationed at border near Gaza, preparing for an imminent ground offensive. 

It is thought that one of the reasons the IDF has ordered an evacuation from the north is that Hamas’s network of underground tunnels in Gaza City is one of its primary targets. But destroying these tunnels – dubbed the “Gaza Metro” by Israel – is an operation fraught with peril. 

As Dr Richemond-Barak points out, Hamas has had plenty of time to booby-trap the entire network. “It could just let the soldiers enter into the tunnel network and then eventually blow the whole thing up.”

Another concern is that Israeli hostages could be placed inside these tunnels, rendering them Hamas’s new set of human shields. 

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