This is how treacherously Hamas should prevent the evacuation of Gaza residents. Scion of a banana magnate: 35-year-old Noboa becomes the new president of Ecuador

It rained leaflets: In recent days, the Israeli army has dropped evacuation leaflets from the skies over Gaza City, urging residents to flee to the south of the Gaza Strip ahead of a possible Israeli ground offensive.

But Palestinians are in trouble because Hamas has urged people to stay in their homes — and for good reason.

Citizens as human shields

About 1.1 million people live in Gaza City, about half the population of the Gaza Strip. Hamas’s headquarters are also located in the area’s largest city. Hamas has ruled the Gaza Strip with an iron fist since 2006 – and is now using its own population as a protective shield.

According to an Israeli army spokesman, to avoid being attacked, the terrorists barricaded themselves not in military barracks, but in residential buildings where civilians live. This gives Hamas a tactical advantage over the Israeli army.

Israel responded by calling for evacuation, which was heavily criticized by the United Nations and aid agencies. The rapid exodus would cause “unspeakable human suffering.” For the elderly, newborns in incubators and people in intensive care, transmission can amount to a “death sentence”.

Hamas causes confusion

But this does not stop Israel from continuing with the evacuation. ‘Take your things, go south. Protect your lives and do not fall into the trap that Hamas has set for you,” warned Israeli Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus.

On the other hand, state media urged residents to ignore Israel’s warning and not go to the southern part of the enclave. The evacuation order is said to be “false propaganda” and “psychological warfare.”

Hamas also announced that international institutions would not leave Gaza City. However, this is not true. The UN organization UNRWA has moved its operations center south.

Despite Hamas’ calls, a mass exodus took place. There were long columns from Gaza City this weekend. People felt pressured because Israel only wanted to give people 24 hours to leave their homes. The time window has now been extended indefinitely. “We will not begin a major military operation until we see that civilians have left the area,” Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus told CNN.

Roadblocks and attacks on internally displaced persons

The Israeli army accuses Hamas of setting up roadblocks to prevent the evacuation of its own population. On X, the Israeli army (IDF) published a photo showing a road blockade. Hamas has not yet responded to the accusation.

An explosion is said to have hit a convoy of refugees on the evacuation route. Dozens of people are said to have been killed in the attack, mostly women and children between the ages of two and five. Hamas immediately announced through state media that the Israeli army was attacking people as they fled. The Palestinian Ministry of Health spoke of 70 deaths.

“I met people who had evacuated their homes and wanted to flee to the south, and then returned because it was too dangerous,” reports a journalist from “Spiegel”.

Israel immediately launched an investigation. “I can’t say for sure whether this was an improvised explosive device on the side of the road or an airstrike,” said Jonathan Conricus, spokesman for the Israeli army. “No vehicles were targeted, no civilians. We want people to move south. It makes no sense that the Israeli army did that,” Conricus said.