250,000 left Gaza City since Israel stepped up op
Palestinians transport their belongings as they evacuate Gaza City towards southern areas of the coastal Gaza Strip, on September 11, 2025. Israel's military said on September 9, it will act with "great force" in Gaza City and told residents to leave as it stepped up a deadly assault on the Palestinian territory's largest urban centre. PHOTO:AFP
The Israeli military said on Saturday that more than 250,000 people had fled Gaza City since it began intensifying operations there, as Palestinian officials reported many had been unable to evacuate south due to overcrowding.
The United Nations estimated in late August that about one million Palestinians lived in and around Gaza's largest urban centre, where it said a famine was unfolding after months of worsening conditions.
The world body and members of the international community have urged the military to abandon its plans to capture the city, warning the assault and ensuing displacement could worsen the already dire humanitarian situation.
On Saturday, Arabic-language army spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X that "more than a quarter of a million residents of Gaza City have moved out of the city for their own safety".
Gaza's civil defence agency, however, reported a much lower figure, saying fewer than 70,000 had managed to leave.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said eliminating Hamas leaders would end the war in Gaza, as top US diplomat Marco Rubio said hours ahead of his visit to Israel that its strike against Hamas in Qatar would not derail their alliance.
"The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don't care about the people in Gaza. They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war," Netanyahu said on X.
"Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war."
His comments came shortly after Rubio told reporters that while President Donald Trump was "not happy" about the Qatar strike, their alliance would be unaffected.
"It's not going to change the nature of our relationship with the Israelis, but we are going to have to talk about it — primarily, what impact does this have" on the diplomatic efforts to bring about a truce in Gaza, Rubio added.