Israeli forces are carrying out some of the most intense bombardments Gaza City has seen in two years of conflict, according to eyewitnesses, as the military advances in its campaign to take control of the enclave’s most densely populated urban area.

On Friday, Avichay Adraee, the Israeli military’s Arabic-language spokesperson, issued a stark warning to residents, stating that “unprecedented force” would be used in the city. 

He urged civilians to evacuate using the al-Rashid coastal road — now the sole corridor permitted for escape — and “join the hundreds of thousands” already fleeing southward.

The Palestinian Civil Defence reported that approximately 450,000 people have fled Gaza City since Israel began its latest military operation in August. At the time, the city had an estimated population of one million.

Al Jazeera correspondent Tareq Abu Azzoum described scenes of “distressing” devastation on Friday, with residents forced westward toward the coastal road amid relentless Israeli strikes that are destroying infrastructure and flattening entire neighbourhoods.

“This current military operation is completely destroying entire blocks, and there are still families who are trapped under the debris of the targeted houses, particularly in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood,” said Abu Azzoum, reporting from Nuseirat in central Gaza.

Despite the growing number of residents willing to evacuate — many of whom had earlier resisted displacement — the costs of transport have become prohibitive for many. Renting a vehicle to move household belongings to the overcrowded al-Mawasi region in southern Gaza is beyond reach for numerous families.

Nevertheless, hundreds of Palestinians have begun the long journey south, some walking to al-Mawasi. The area has previously come under Israeli fire, despite being officially designated a “safe zone”.

Source: Al Jazeera

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