‘Gaza Is Burning’: Israel Orders Gaza City Evacuation Ahead of Major Offensive

Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday declared that “Gaza is burning,” vowing the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would strike “with an iron fist” until Hamas is defeated and all remaining hostages are freed.

“We will not relent and we will not go back — until the completion of the mission,” Katz wrote on X, as the military issued its first evacuation order for all residents of Gaza City.

The unprecedented warning came as Israel pressed ahead with plans for a major ground offensive to capture what it calls Hamas’ last stronghold. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain in Gaza City, many already weakened by famine-like conditions and repeated displacements. Aid groups warned most civilians cannot afford to flee, with the UN estimating it costs over $1,000 for a family to move south, where shelters are overcrowded and short on food and medicine.

Israel said its forces demolished 50 high-rise buildings in Gaza City over the past two days, accusing Hamas of using them for military purposes. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the demolitions were “only the beginning” of a broader assault.

Civil defence officials reported survivors and bodies being pulled from the rubble, warning that more may still be trapped. Medical workers inside Gaza vowed to keep hospitals open despite evacuation orders.

Meanwhile, families of Israeli hostages pleaded with lawmakers in Jerusalem to pursue negotiations. “If I was released through a deal, then apparently that’s the right way to free the rest,” said Iair Horn, a former captive whose brother is still being held.

The conflict, sparked by Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack that killed 1,200 in Israel and led to the abduction of 251 hostages, has devastated Gaza. More than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and 90% of the enclave’s population displaced. Violence has also surged in the West Bank, where two teenage boys were killed in Jenin on Monday, and six people died in Jerusalem after two gunmen opened fire at a bus stop.