Israeli army declares Gaza City a dangerous combat zone

Israel’s military said on Friday morning that Gaza City, home to about one million Palestinians, is a “dangerous combat zone” as part of its plan to occupy the city and as a continuation of the genocide it has been carrying out for about 23 months.

The announcement was made in a post by army spokesman Avichay Adraee on X, in which he said: “Based on an assessment of the situation and instructions from the political level, it was decided that starting today (Friday) at 10:00 a.m. (7:00 GMT) the local and temporary tactical truce for military activities will not include the area of Gaza City, which will be considered a dangerous combat zone.”

On July 27, the Israeli military announced the start of what it called a “local tactical suspension of military activities” in specific areas of the Gaza Strip, including Gaza City, to allow humanitarian aid to pass. Nevertheless, the army continued to strike tents and homes and killed civilians.

Adraee added: “The Israel Defense Forces will continue to support humanitarian efforts in Gaza alongside continuing ground maneuvers and offensive activities against the terrorist organizations in the Strip with the aim of protecting the citizens of the State of Israel,” he claimed.

Since October 7, 2023, the Israeli military advanced into Gaza City, before withdrawing from most of its neighborhoods in April 2024 after saying it had “destroyed Hamas’s infrastructure.”

It has recently returned to carry out strikes, destruction and incursions in the Shujayea, Zeitoun and Sabra neighborhoods in the east and south of the city, as well as in Jabalia to the north, displacing thousands of Palestinians.

On August 8 the Israeli government approved a plan put forward by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to gradually reoccupy the entire Gaza Strip, beginning with Gaza City.

The plan includes the Israeli military moving into areas it claims it has not previously entered “with the aim of taking control of them” in central Gaza and Gaza City, despite warnings from Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir against the move.

According to the proposal presented by Netanyahu, the plan begins with the displacement of Gaza City residents southward, followed by encircling the city, and then carrying out additional incursions into population centers, according to the Israeli public broadcaster.

This comes as international and UN warnings continue that an operation to seize Gaza City would have devastating humanitarian consequences, particularly amid the catastrophic famine gripping the population and their lack of basic necessities.

With U.S. support, Israel has carried out what Palestinians and critics call a genocidal campaign in Gaza since October 7, 2023, including killings, starvation, destruction and forced displacement, ignoring international appeals and orders from the International Court of Justice to stop.

The campaign has left 62,966 Palestinians killed and 159,266 wounded, most of them children and women, more than 9,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, and a famine that has claimed the lives of 317 Palestinians, including 121 children.