Israel Army says will use unprecedented pressure in Gaza City

The Israeli army warned on Friday (September 19, 2025) it might function with “unprecedented pressure” in Gaza City, telling residents to flee southwards because it presses its floor offensive on the territory’s largest city centre.

Israel has pummelled Gaza City with strikes and tank hearth in its bid to grab it, almost two years into the struggle that has devastated the Palestinian territory and left the Gaza City space gripped by a U.N.-declared famine.

The army launched its main floor offensive on Tuesday (September 16, 2025) and has for days been telling residents to go south, however many Palestinians say the journey is prohibitively costly and so they have no idea the place to go.

The United Nations estimated on the finish of August that about a million individuals had been dwelling in Gaza City and its environment.

The army on Friday (September 19, 2025) stated it estimated 4.8 lakh of them have fled since late August.

On Friday (September 19, 2025), the army’s Arabic-language spokesman introduced the closure of a brief evacuation route opened 48 hours earlier, saying the one method south was through the Al-Rashid coastal highway.

“From this second, Salah al-Din Road is closed for south-bound journey,” Avichay Adraee, stated in a publish on X addressing residents of town, referring to the principle north-south artery by means of the Gaza Strip.

Israel had on Wednesday (September 17, 2025) introduced a “non permanent” new route for residents to flee alongside the highway, saying it might stay open for simply 48 hours from noon (9 a.m. GMT).

“The Israel Defence Forces will proceed to function with unprecedented pressure towards Hamas and different terrorist organisations,” Mr. Adraee stated on X on Friday (September 19, 2025).

“Take this chance and be a part of the a whole lot of hundreds of metropolis residents who’ve moved south to the humanitarian space.”

The Israeli army has urged Palestinians to go to a “humanitarian space” within the southern coastal space of Al-Mawasi, the place it says help, medical care and humanitarian infrastructure will probably be offered.

Israel first declared the realm a secure zone early within the struggle, however has carried out repeated strikes on it since then, saying it’s focusing on Hamas.

Nivin Ahmed, 50, fled south from Gaza City to the central metropolis of Deir el-Balah on Thursday (September 18, 2025), strolling with seven members of the family. “We walked greater than 15 km; we had been crawling from exhaustion,” she stated. “My youngest son cried from fatigue. We took turns dragging a small cart with a few of our belongings.”

Mona Abdel Karim, 36, stated she had been unable to safe transport south and had been sleeping along with her household on Al-Rashid road for 2 nights ready for a driver. “I really feel like I’m about to blow up. We can’t stroll on foot — my husband’s dad and mom are aged and sick, and the youngsters are too weak to stroll,” she stated.

Footage from Al-Rashid road on Thursday (September 18, 2025) confirmed lengthy traces of Palestinians heading south on foot or in automobiles piled excessive with meagre belongings.

Israeli hearth killed a minimum of 22 individuals throughout the territory on Friday (September 19, 2025), together with 11 in Gaza City, in response to a tally of figures given by Gaza hospitals contacted by AFP.

Ihe Israeli army stated its troops continued to “broaden their exercise” in Gaza City, including it had “dismantled greater than 20 army infrastructure websites” over the previous day.