A large number of people are fleeing Gaza City, according to local officials to the BBC on Thursday morning.
For the inhabitants, the situation is becoming increasingly desperate. Many have nowhere to flee.
The sound of explosions, artillery fire, fighter jets, ambulances, and cries for help. We can't take it, says Ahmad al-Shanti in Gaza City to AFP.
The sound is getting closer, but where are we supposed to go?
Another city resident, Amal Abdel-Aal, describes to the news agency how "the sky flashes all night".
No one in Gaza City has slept – not tonight, not in a week, she says.
In a statement, the Israeli military warns medical personnel and international organizations, who are urged to leave the city and "prepare a plan" to move medical equipment south in preparation for the mass evacuation.
80,000 called in
Israeli forces have already established a foothold on the outskirts of the city, claimed the military's spokesperson Effie Defrin to The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday evening. This comes after several days of intense bombing and artillery fire against Gaza City, which has around one million inhabitants and is largely already in ruins.
What we see in Gaza is nothing but an apocalyptic reality for children, for their families, for an entire generation, says Rädda Barnen's regional director Ahmed Alhendawi to the news agency AP.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has instructed the military to "shorten the time plans to take control of the last terrorist strongholds and defeat Hamas", writes The Times of Israel. Call-up orders for a total of 60,000 reservists are being sent out this week and an additional 20,000 later in August.
Deadline October 7
The invasion has sparked widespread criticism, including from the UN. On X Secretary-General António Guterres calls for an immediate ceasefire to avoid the death and destruction that Israel's expanded operation "inevitably" will cause.
Israel has previously stated that the capture of Gaza City will be preceded by evacuations south of the inhabitants, with a deadline set for October 7 – the two-year anniversary of Hamas' attack on Israel that triggered the war.
After that, Israel plans to besiege the area. The people who are then left behind will be considered Hamas members – i.e. legitimate military targets, according to Israel – and will therefore be killed. Such a procedure would, however, be in contravention of international law, which requires that civilians be protected to the best possible extent.
