IDF says 280,000 residents have evacuated Gaza City ahead of planned ground offensive

The IDF continues to carry out strikes against high-rise buildings in Gaza City ahead of the intensive ground operations expected to commence within the coming days, if there is not progress on hostage-ceasefire talks. 

The military is still preparing for the large-scale incursion into Gaza City, which explains the repeated calls to the civilian population to evacuate, along with the targeting of the high-rise buildings which the IDF says are used by Hamas for observation and sniper attacks on its forces. 

On Saturday, the military destroyed another high-rise building, after providing advance warning to the residents to evacuate the building, and directing them to move southward to al-Mawasi humanitarian zone. 

🎯STRUCK: A Hamas high-rise building that was used by the terrorist organization in Gaza City.

The building included military infrastructure used to advance and execute terrorist attacks against IDF troops in the area.

Prior to the strike, several steps were taken in order to… pic.twitter.com/8qtQCnBFGp

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 13, 2025

On Sunday, IDF Arabic Spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee released evacuation warnings for three additional buildings in Gaza City, each within a couple hours of the other. 

#عاجل ‼️ انذار عاجل إلى كل من لم يخل بعد من منطقة ميناء غزة وحي الرمال الجنوبي في البلوكات 727، 786، 787، 788، وبشكل خاص برج الكوثر المحدد باللون الأحمر وفي الخيام القريبة منه والواقع في شارع دمشق

⭕️سيهاجم جيش الدفاع المبنى في الوقت القريب نظرًا لوجود بنى تحتية إرهابية لحماس… pic.twitter.com/AHN3vvcHZf

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) September 14, 2025

On Sunday, the IDF also announced the elimination of several more Hamas terrorists and commanders, including some involved in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led atrocities. The terrorists were killed by troops from the 282nd Brigade in recent days. 

“In total, more than 20 terrorists were eliminated by the troops, including additional operatives who crossed into Israel on October 7th and participated in the massacre,” the IDF said in a statement. 

🔴ELIMINATED: Over the past month, IDF troops eliminated several Hamas terrorists and field commanders in Gaza.

Among them was Yousef Mahmoud Mohammad Jumaa, head of a Hamas cell that infiltrated Kibbutz Alumim and took part in the brutal October 7th massacre.

In total, more… pic.twitter.com/qUXCmUGLPy

— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 14, 2025

As it prepares to begin the ground incursion, the defense establishment estimates that around 280,000 residents have left Gaza City so far, while several hundred thousand still remain in the city. 

The Hamas-run civil defense agency, however, told AFP that the number was far lower than Israel’s estimates, claiming that “the actual number of displaced people from Gaza to the south is approximately 68,000 only.” 

Images and videos posted to social media over the weekend showed lines of cars, trucks, and people stretching over a kilometer heading towards the southern Gaza Strip. 

Meanwhile, several families have expressed to Israeli media that they are unable or unwilling to evacuate, while others claim that the "safe zone" to which they were directed has itself been hit by IDF strikes. Recently, Hamas was also found to be distributing false “evacuation notices” to the people of Gaza City, trying to confuse them as to where to go, or claiming that there is no room left in the southern humanitarian zones. 

IDF Arabic Spokesman Col. Adraee posted an updated map, showing the evacuation zone, which now includes all of Gaza City, while showing the humanitarian route designated by the IDF for safe travel, as well as the areas available for relocation.  

بخصوص الخريطة التي نشرت في الصحافة الاسرائيلية وتم استغلالها من قبل جهات ذات مصلحة معينة في حماس وأدواتها لنشر الأكاذيب والحقائق المغلوطة أوضح:
🔴 كل مدينة غزة تعتبر منطقة حمراء أي منطقة قتال خطيرة ويجب الانتقال منها فورًا.
🔵اللون الأزرق يمثل مناطق يمكن الانتقال اليها حيث لا… https://t.co/PggRiYkybB pic.twitter.com/bWUoyl0Ik6

— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) September 13, 2025

“Hamas’s attempts to spread lies and prevent you from leaving the city prove its willingness to risk your lives in service of its survival,” Adraee said in reference to the attempts by Hamas to get residents to stay. 

According to Channel 12, a security source told them that the ground incursion could begin “very soon.” 

“We are preparing to begin the next stage of the operation very soon. However, they leave an opening and an opportunity for any decision that will lead to the release of the hostages,” the source said. 

Israeli analysts believe that the military has been proceeding slowly with the ground operation in Gaza City, both to give time for civilians to flee, minimizing the risk of civilian casualties, and also in the hopes of a possible softening of Hamas in the hostage negotiations. 

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently in Israel for discussions with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the hostage talks, the Gaza war, and the recent Israeli strike on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar. Before landing in Israel, Rubio said that Trump wants to see the war end soon. 

Speaking to reporters before leaving for Israel, Rubio said that President Donald Trump “wants Hamas defeated, he wants the war to end, he wants all 48 hostages home, including those that are deceased, and he wants it all at once.”