Jerusalem/Cairo (Reuters) – Gaza residents will receive tents and other shelter equipment from Sunday, before being transferred from “safe” combat zones in southern Enclave, the Israeli military said on Saturday.
This occurs days after Israel said that he intended to launch a new offensive to take control of the city of Gaza, the largest urban center in Enclave, in a plan that aroused the region’s international alarm, where about 2.2 million people live.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that, before launching the offensive, the civilian population will be withdrawn for what he described as “safe zones”, calling the city of Gaza a last stronghold of Hamas.
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The equipment will be transferred through the passage of Kerem Shalom, in southern Gaza, the United Nations (UN) and other international humanitarian aid organizations, after being inspected by the Ministry of Defense, the military said.
The military refused to comment when asked if the equipment was intended for the population of the city of Gaza, estimated at about one million people today, and if the place to which they will be relocated in southern Gaza would be the region of Rafah, which borders Egypt.
Israel’s Minister of Defense, Israel Katz, said on Saturday that plans for the new offensive are still being formulated.
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However, Israeli forces have already increased operations on the outskirts of the city of Gaza last week. Residents of the neighborhoods of Zeitorun and Shejaia reported that the air and Israeli tanks have destroyed many houses.
The war began when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and hostage, according to Israeli authorities, and 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are still alive.
The subsequent military offensive of Israel against Hamas killed more than 61,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health officials. It also caused a crisis of hunger, moved internally most of the population and left much of the enclave in ruins.
