As IDF prepares for ground campaign to capture Gaza City, thousands of Palestinians flee southward

The Israeli military is intensifying its ground operations across the Gaza Strip ahead of the official start of Operation Gideon’s Chariots II to conquer Gaza City. 

On Thursday morning, the IDF said that its troops had eliminated several terrorists and dismantled several terrorist infrastructure sites in the southern Gaza Strip over the past couple of days, including operations by the 188th Armored Brigade in Khan Younis to secure the “Magen Oz” Corridor, a strategic route connecting the eastern and western parts of the city. 

Israeli forces also conducted operations in northern Gaza, including Jabaliya, where troops dismantled several underground tunnels and routes that were actively being used by Hamas in the area. In another incident, troops from the 401st Armored Brigade serving in Jabaliya identified three terrorists near their position and called in an airstrike, which eliminated them.

Recent satellite imagery, from earlier this month, shows that the IDF has been slowly demolishing many of the buildings in Jabaliya, both in order to prevent their further use by terrorists and due to the unsafe nature of structures, which have been damaged extensively throughout the 22-month-long conflict. 

Open source intelligence analyst Ben Tzion Macales posted a comparison of satellite imagery from Aug. 19 and Aug. 27, showing extensive destruction of structures in the intervening period. 

He noted that the IDF has already leveled about half of the town of Jabaliya, as it approaches the neighborhood of Sheikh Radwan north of Gaza City. 

כוחות צה"ל מעמיקים את האחיזה בג'באליא ומתחילים להתקרב לשכונת שיח' רצ'ואן, בצפון העיר עזה.

שימו לב כמה שטח טוהר ושוטח בפרק זמן של פחות מ-10 ימים בג'באליא. (זה אחרי השתהות של כשבועיים בשטח).

מתחילים לראות את הסוף של העיירה (להערכתי, כבר חצי ממנה שוטחה) pic.twitter.com/7cgrBX1obZ

— Ben Tzion Macales (@BenTzionMacales) August 28, 2025

To the south of Jabaliya, in Tuffah, images also showed extensive demolition of structures during the same time period. The IDF appears to be preparing the ground for the extensive ground campaign needed to capture Gaza City, and working to eliminate Hamas’ ability to use derelict buildings or abandoned tunnel shafts for cover, as occurred recently in the Khan Younis area.

שכונת תפאח לאחר פעילות כוחות צה"ל pic.twitter.com/R6J3mopUNf

— Ben Tzion Macales (@BenTzionMacales) August 24, 2025

Gaza City remains one of Hamas’s last strongholds, where the group still maintains extensive infrastructure both above and below ground. The Gaza City battalion is believed to be relatively intact, as the IDF has previously refrained from large-scale operations to avoid harming the Israeli hostages believed to be held there. 

The IDF is currently focused on evacuating civilians from Gaza City, with reports in Arab and international media stating that thousands of residents have left the area over the last few days. 

IDF Arabic Spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee released a statement on Wednesday afternoon, calling on Gaza City residents to evacuate ahead of the military operations expected to begin as early as next week. He warned that Hamas is attempting to prevent them from leaving through social media posts and loudspeaker announcements in city neighborhoods, calling them "false rumors."

Hamas-affiliated social media accounts claim that there is no space left for evacuees in the southern Gaza Strip.

“Important statement to the residents of the Gaza Strip, specifically in Gaza City and the northern Strip, regarding the false rumors being spread that there is no empty space in the southern Strip for the population to relocate,” Adraee posted on 𝕏. 

“Prior to transitioning to the next phase in the war, I wish to confirm that there are vast empty areas in the southern Strip, just as is the case in the central camps and in Al-Mawasi. These areas are free of tents,” he added. “The IDF has surveyed these areas, and they will be presented to you afterward to assist the evacuated residents as much as possible.”

Adraee also said that the evacuation of the city is “inevitable” because of the upcoming military operation and outlined preparations for evacuees.

“Evacuating Gaza City is inevitable, and therefore, every family that relocates to the south will receive the most abundant humanitarian aid that is currently being prepared these days, as the IDF has begun working on bringing tents and preparing areas to establish complexes for distributing humanitarian aid, laying water lines, and more,” the Arabic-language spokesman said.

Israeli forces are currently constructing two new food and aid distribution sites in the Rafah area, which is under full IDF control. At present, it is unknown whether the IDF will also construct tent cities in Rafah, as originally proposed by Defense Minister Israel Katz. While controversial, the plan is meant to alleviate the poor living conditions of many in the Mawasi humanitarian zone, who are currently living in makeshift tents and structures. 

In order to fully eliminate the Hamas presence in Gaza City, the military is expected to demolish significant parts of the city as it takes hold of them, in a process the IDF calls “sanitizing.” 

The IDF has begun mobilizing around 60,000 reserve troops to support operations in other arenas and assist in the ongoing campaign to gain control over the remainder of the Gaza Strip.