Israel is preparing to move Palestinians from combat zones in Gaza ahead of a new offensive, with tent supplies set to arrive via UN and aid agencies.
Families of hostages urged a nationwide stoppage, warning that the planned assault endangers the 50 captives still held in Gaza.
The move comes as Netanyahu pushes to capture Hamas strongholds, rejecting a truce unless Hamas disarms, while international concern over civilian safety grows.
Israel Plans To Move Palestinians To 'Safe Zones' In Southern Gaza
Israel prepares to relocate Palestinians ahead of a new Gaza offensive, sparking global concern over civilian safety and hostage risks. Families of hostages call for nationwide protests, urging the government to strike a deal to end the nearly two-year war.
Summary
Israel announced its plan to move Palestinians from combat zones to 'safe zones' in southern Gaza. This comes amid Israel's plans for a military offensive in some of the territory's most populated areas.
According to AP, COGANT, the Israeli military organisation in charge of providing humanitarian help to the area, announced that the tent supplies to Gaza will start on Sunday. Defence Minister Israel Katz stated on social media that "we are now in the stage of discussions to finalise the plan to defeat Hamas in Gaza," but the military declined to say when the mass Palestinian movement will start.
As per Reuters, this announcement comes days after Israel said that it would begin a fresh attack to take over northern Gaza City, the largest city in the enclave. The proposal caused international concern about what would happen to the destroyed strip, which is home to around 2.2 million people. After being carefully examined by the defence ministry staff, the equipment will be transported by the UN and other international aid agencies over the Israeli crossing of Kerem Shalom, Israel Defence Force spokesperson, Adraee said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, anxious families of Israeli hostages called for a “nationwide day of stoppage” in Israel on Sunday to express growing frustration over 22 months of war.
Hostage families worry that the upcoming offensive puts the 50 captives who are still in Gaza, of whom only 20 are believed to be alive, in much greater danger. The recent revelation of footage depicting malnourished detainees speaking under pressure and begging for food and assistance appalled them and other Israelis.
Families and supporters have put pressure on the government to reach an agreement to end the war; in recent weeks, numerous former Israeli army and intelligence officers have also made similar calls.
Israelis were invited into the streets on Sunday by a group that represents the families. It added in a statement that hundreds of citizen-led projects nationwide will stop their regular activities to support the fight to free all 50 hostages, which is the most moral and just cause.
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I want to believe that there is hope, and it will not come from above; it will come only from us,” said Dana Silberman Sitton, sister of Shiri Bibas and aunt of Kfir and Ariel Bibas, who were killed in captivity.
She spoke at a weekly rally in Tel Aviv, along with Pushpa Joshi, sister of kidnapped Nepalese hostage Bipin Joshi, a student seized from a kibbutz. “I miss my best friend,” Joshi said, according to AP.
A request for comment on whether the preparations were included in the revised plan was not immediately answered by Israel's military aid coordination agency, COGAT. As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu carries out his plan to attack the two remaining strongholds of Hamas, capturing the city, which is home to around a million Palestinians, complicates efforts to implement a truce to end the nearly two-year conflict. Netanyahu claimed that because Hamas has refused to give up its weapons, Israel has no option except to finish the job and crush the Palestinian militancy group.
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Hamas declared that until an independent Palestinian state was created, it would not disarm. Approximately 75% of Gaza is already under Israeli control.
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