Israel urges Gaza City evacuations amid renewed clashes

Jerusalem

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have issued urgent evacuation orders for residents in eastern Gaza City, warning of intensified military operations in the area. IDF spokesperson Avichay Adraee urged civilians via social media to move westward to designated shelter centers for their safety.

The military said its current operations aim to dismantle Hamas’ militant infrastructure. In southern Gaza’s Tel al-Sultan refugee camp, Hamas sniper operations leader Ahmad Iyad Muhammad Farhat was reportedly killed in an airstrike.

Farhat was described as the key figure behind sniper attacks on Israeli forces. The IDF also confirmed it had neutralized several Hamas operatives in northern and southern Gaza over the past 48 hours, along with booby-trapped buildings and tunnels used for militant activities.

A separate IDF and Israeli Security Agency statement said Haitham Razek Abd al-Karim Sheikh Khalil, commander of Hamas’ Shejaiya Battalion, was killed Wednesday in a strike on a command center near IDF ground troops. Khalil allegedly planned attacks on Israeli soldiers and civilians and had a role in the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

Khalil previously led Hamas’ tunnel network operations and took over command after the deaths of former battalion leaders Jamil Wadia and Fahim Farhat.

As airstrikes and ground clashes continue, humanitarian agencies have raised concerns about the safety of civilians caught in the crossfire. Gaza’s health system, already strained, faces further pressure as families flee eastern neighborhoods for safer areas in the west.

The conflict remains tense as Israeli forces press on with targeted missions, vowing to eliminate threats posed by Hamas—an organization designated as a terrorist group by Israel, the United States, and the European Union.