Israel orders last residents to get out of Gaza City

Israel's defense minister on Wednesday ordered allremaining Palestinians to leave Gaza City, saying it was their “last opportunity” and that anyone who stayed would be considered a militant supporter and face the “full force” of Israel’s latest offensive.

- By Waraa SHURAFA AND Samy Macpy

At least 21 Palestinians were killed across the territory, according to local hospitals, as Hamas weighed a new proposal from President Trump aimed at ending the war and returning the remaining captives takenin Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered it.

A senior Hamas official told the Associated Press that there are some pointsin the proposal that are unacceptable and must be amended, without elaborating. He said the official response will only come after consultations with other Palestinian factions.

Around 400,000 Palestinians have fled famine-stricken Gaza City since Israel launched a major offensive last month aimed at occupying it, but hundreds of thousandsremain, many because they cannot afford to leave or are too weak to make the journey to tent camps inthe south.

“This is the last opportunity for Gaza residents who wish to do so to move south,” Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X. “Those who remain in Gaza will be (considered) terrorists and terror supporters.”

The road south was packed as Palestinians fled, with hastily loaded trucks and cars driving alongside people on foot carrying their belongings.

“We left barefoot,” Hussein al-Del said. The Israelis “were striking at random, with no mercy for anyone. We left behind our food, our furniture, blankets, and everything. We left only with our souls,” he said.

Strike hits shelter

At least seven people, including first responders, were killed when two Israeli strikes minutes apart hit a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, according to AlAhli Hospital, where the casualties were taken. Officials there said more than three dozen people were wounded.