Israel issues 'last' warning for Gaza City residents to flee

Israel's defence minister issued a final warning for Gaza City residents to flee south on Wednesday, as Hamas weighed US President Donald Trump's plan to end nearly two years of war in the Palestinian territory.

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Displaced Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza due to the military operation move southward after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

(REUTERS)

Witnesses reported heavy bombardment in Gaza's largest urban centre, as Israel Katz warned the military was tightening its encirclement of the city.

"This is the last opportunity for Gaza residents who wish to do so to move south and leave Hamas operatives isolated in Gaza City," Katz posted on X, adding that those who remained would "be considered terrorists and terrorist supporters".

Katz said the military had captured the Netzarim corridor in the central Gaza Strip through to the western coast, a move he said cut the north of Gaza off form the south.

He added anyone leaving Gaza City for the south would have to pass through Israeli military checkpoints.

The announcement came hours after the military said it was closing the last remaining route for residents of southern Gaza to access the north.

On the ground in Gaza City, 60-year-old Rabah Al Halabi, who lives in a tent on the premises of Al Shifa Hospital, described relentless explosions. "I will not leave because the situation in Gaza City is no different from the situation in the southern Gaza Strip," he told AFP by telephone.