Gaza City, Palestinian Territories — The Israeli military issued an evacuation order for residents of parts of Gaza City on Friday ahead of an attack, as it presses an intensified campaign in the battered Palestinian territory.
“This is a final and urgent warning ahead of an impending strike,” army spokesman Avichay Adraee said.
The army “will strike all areas from which rockets are launched.”
The evacuation order comes at the beginning of the Eid al-Adha holiday, one of the main religious festivals of the Muslim calendar.
The Israeli military has recently stepped up its campaign in Gaza in what it says is a renewed push to defeat Hamas.
International calls for a negotiated ceasefire have grown in recent weeks.
Hamas’s lead negotiator, Khalil al-Hayya, said on Thursday that the Palestinian group was ready to enter a new round of talks aimed at sealing a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
Talks aimed at brokering a new ceasefire have failed to yield a breakthrough since the last brief truce fell apart in March with the resumption of Israeli operations in Gaza.
Israel and Hamas appeared close to an agreement late last month, but a deal proved elusive, with each side accusing the other of scuppering a US-backed proposal.
Israel has faced mounting pressure to allow more aid into Gaza, after it imposed a more than two-month blockade that led to widespread shortages of food and other essentials.
It recently eased the blockade and has worked with the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation to implement a new aid distribution mechanism via a handful of centers in south and central Gaza.
But since its inception, the GHF has been a magnet for criticism from the UN and other members of the aid world — which only intensified following a recent string of deadly incidents near its facilities.
