Israel's military told all residents of Gaza City to evacuate immediately on Monday, calling for up to one million people to move southward ahead of what it described as a large ground assault to defeat Hamas.
The orders, delivered in leaflets and posted on social media by the Israel Defense Forces' Arabic spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, said "remaining in the area is extremely dangerous" and instructed civilians to leave Gaza City "for your safety, evacuate immediately." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a video message the same day, said air strikes that had destroyed high-rise buildings in Gaza in recent days were "only the beginning of the main, intensive operation" and warned residents: "You have been warned: get out of there!" Israeli officials said 50 high-rise buildings had been destroyed over the previous two days as operations intensified.
The evacuation order follows a security-cabinet decision to press a campaign to conquer Gaza City after indirect negotiations on a ceasefire and hostage release broke down in July, officials said. Israel says the military operation aims to defeat Hamas and recover hostages taken in the October 7, 2023 attack that triggered the wider campaign. Israeli authorities say 48 hostages remain held by Hamas, of whom about 20 are believed to be alive; Hamas and Israeli figures differ on many details.
Humanitarian agencies and the United Nations warned that forcing or pressuring hundreds of thousands of civilians to move within an area already stricken by food shortages and displacement could aggravate an unfolding catastrophe. UN-backed global food-security experts declared a famine in Gaza City on Aug. 22. Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry has reported at least 121 deaths from starvation and severe malnutrition across the territory since then; Israel disputes those figures and says it is expanding efforts to facilitate aid deliveries.
The UN and humanitarian partners said the announcement on Aug. 7 of intensified Israeli operations in Gaza City was already having "horrific humanitarian consequences for people in displacement sites," with many households unable to move because of high costs, lack of transport and absence of safe space. United Nations agencies reported that more than 97,000 people had been newly displaced since Aug. 14, but that only about 50,000 had been observed moving from northern to southern Gaza as the IDF had instructed.
The military has directed evacuees to a newly designated "humanitarian area" in al-Mawasi, saying it contains essential infrastructure including field hospitals, water pipelines and that food, tents and medicines would be delivered in coordination with international organizations. Humanitarian groups and UN officials cautioned, however, that al-Mawasi has been repeatedly hit by strikes during the conflict, that tent sites are overcrowded and that hospitals across the territory are operating far beyond capacity. The UN said no area of Gaza could be considered fully safe and urged Israel, which controls Gaza's border crossings, to allow sufficient food and supplies to avert a wider famine.
Photographs and reporting from the ground showed columns of people traveling south from Gaza City along coastal roads, on foot, in vehicles and on donkey carts, but observers said there was no mass exodus. Some residents said they could not leave because they had nowhere to go, lacked money or transport, or feared further danger en route. A woman who identified herself as Hanaa, a mother of three displaced earlier in the war, told the BBC she had lost her home and was staying with relatives because she did not know where else to go. "If I knew [somewhere to go], I would have left [by now] and taken my family and my children," she said. A student, Razan Salha, said she had paid $375 to travel south two days earlier and was now sharing a room with about 20 relatives in Deir al-Balah. "Not everyone was displaced — there are still people in Gaza City because they haven't got any place to go or there is no transportation at a suitable price," she said.
International rights groups and UN officials have warned that ordering large-scale internal movements of civilians could amount to forcible transfer under international law if people are coerced or have no real choice. The UN's humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, warned that there was a narrow window to prevent famine from spreading to central and southern Gaza and that the window was "closing fast." He said more aid, secure access and safe space were needed urgently.
The military campaign in Gaza began after the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw hundreds taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. Since then, Gaza's health ministry, run by Hamas, says at least 64,605 people have been killed in Israeli attacks; those figures are frequently cited by Palestinian authorities and humanitarian groups and are subject to verification challenges in the context of the conflict.
International reaction to the evacuation order included criticism from the UN, which warned that intensifying operations in an area where famine has been declared would push civilians into "an even deeper catastrophe." Humanitarian agencies urged all parties to protect civilians, expand and facilitate aid deliveries, and ensure safe evacuation routes for those who choose to leave.
Israeli officials said forces would continue to operate in Gaza City "with great determination" and that their actions were aimed at degrading Hamas's capabilities and securing the release of hostages. The timing of a planned ground assault remained unclear but the military's public messaging and the prime minister's remarks signaled an imminent escalation of ground operations in Gaza City.