With Israeli offensive imminent, thousands of Gaza City residents refuse to flee or are being blocked by Hamas

As the Israeli military continues to slowly ramp up fighting on the ground in Gaza while finishing the recruitment of tens of thousands of reserve troops for the planned large-scale offensive, hundreds of thousands of Gazan civilians have so far refused to heed the IDF’s call to evacuate to the southern part of the strip.

The reasons for their refusal are varied, and include defiance, exhaustion, and apathy as well as violent efforts by Hamas to prevent the evacuation, aiming to use Gaza City’s around 1 million civilians as human shields.

The IDF estimated Wednesday that only some 70,000 to 80,000 people had fled the city, most of them doing so since last Friday, when the military declared the city a combat zone and stopped the daily, tactical ceasefires in the area.

Some 800,000 people are estimated to remain in Gaza City.

⭕️In accordance with the situational assessment & directives of the political echelon, starting today at 10:00, the local tactical pause in military activity will not apply to the area of Gaza City, which constitutes a dangerous combat zone

The IDF continues supporting…
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 29, 2025

Since the cabinet ordered the military to capture the city, the IDF has repeatedly called on civilians to evacuate toward the southern part of the strip, where it has simultaneously ramped up humanitarian aid efforts.

Over the past days, COGAT, the IDF unit responsible for coordinating the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, has released video footage and audio recordings demonstrating Hamas’ violent repression of the population.

🚨LISTEN: A conversation between a Gaza City resident and a COGAT officer exposes Hamas’ Attempts to prevent residents from moving south for their protection, in order to use them as human shields:

“We want to go south but Hamas are waiting for us on the way. They tell people:… pic.twitter.com/ijoLAqecHu
— COGAT (@cogatonline) September 3, 2025

In one phone recording, a resident of Gaza told a COGAT officer: “We want to go south, but Hamas are waiting for us on the way. They tell people: go back home, there is no evacuation, go back, go back - and the people are scattering.”

“People are really afraid,” he emphasized. “Some of them are going through side streets and looking for alternative ways. Hamas is standing on the seashore near Al-Nabulsi and in other places, preventing the population from moving along the main roads.”

This is Sa'ad al-Mihsal, a former principal of a school in Gaza, attacking Hamas for murdering his son, who was working at a distribution site in Khan Yunis. Al-Mihsal also accuses Hamas of neglecting the residents of the Gaza Strip, violating their dignity, and stealing their… pic.twitter.com/b2KGIKccwA
— COGAT (@cogatonline) September 4, 2025

Another video released by COGAT showed Sa'ad al-Mihsal, a former principal of a school in Gaza, attacking Hamas for its brutal repression against the population, including the murder of his son, for working at a distribution site in Khan Yunis.

“To what Islam do these killers and criminals belong?” Mihsal asked.

Turning to Palestinian leaders outside the enclave, who he said are busy negotiating over the entry of aid, he said, “The blood of our sons takes priority… our honor has been violated, our children’s money looted and stolen.”

He also slammed media outlets working in Gaza for ignoring an incident where his son, his nephew, and ten other men were murdered by Hamas. “Isn’t the one who keeps silent in the face of truth, a mute devil?”

In recent weeks, we've taken steps to adjust the humanitarian response, as part of the preparations to receive the population in the southern part of the Gaza Strip for their protection.

Accordingly, the entry of food, medical equipment, and shelter supplies has been increased.… pic.twitter.com/lnFKArnoBM
— COGAT (@cogatonline) September 3, 2025

Commenting on the video, COGAT commander, Maj.-Gen. Ghassan Alian, sent a message to the residents of Gaza: “Hamas is your enemy. It steals your resources, spreads lies, and tramples on your rights. Hamas is using you as human shields to serve its terrorist interests.”

“It is not protecting the Gaza Strip, but rather destroying it and you from within. Hamas is abandoning the residents of the Gaza Strip and is sparing no means to preserve its false power. This testimony once again reveals the true face of a terrorist organization - one that does not hesitate to harm you and your children,” said Alian.

However, other residents of Gaza told The Times of Israel that they refused to flee for a variety of reasons. Some are afraid to leave their homes, fearing they won’t be able to return if they leave.

“The Israeli forces, when they mark any area by red color and they request the people to leave, they really will destroy it,” Mohammed Alkurdi told the Times.

Others said they can’t afford the cost of moving south or are concerned that the rumors – some spread by Hamas – that there is no space left in the humanitarian zones in the south, are true.

Olga Cherevko, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told the outlet: “I think everyone [in Gaza City] is terrified, and there’s a lot of worry, but there’s also a lot of defiance because people are just sick and tired of moving.”

Most of the sick, elderly, and weak also don’t want to evacuate. “My aunt is elderly and can’t walk, and my mother also struggles with mobility. We have so many belongings and no way to manage them. It feels unthinkable,” said Norhan Almuzaini, a medical program officer for an NGO in Gaza.

Many of those currently in Gaza had already fled in the past and returned during the ceasefire earlier this year. Mo’in Hilu told the Times that many of his neighbors would not flee again, hoping the Israeli offensive would be canceled.

Hilu recounted that he spent a whole year moving from place to place with his family, living in tents without electricity or water, and said he wanted to avoid repeating that experience.

“When I came back to the city, I told myself, ‘If they tell me to leave again, I will not leave Gaza City again’,” he said.

The IDF has been trying to combat some of these concerns. Its Arabic-language spokesman, Col. Avichay Adraee, last week released a statement regarding the false rumors being spread that there is no empty space in the southern Strip for the population to relocate.

“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. The IDF has surveyed these areas, and they will be presented to you afterward to assist the evacuated residents as much as possible,” he said.

“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 worked on these days, as the IDF has begun working on introducing tents and preparing areas to establish complexes for distributing humanitarian aid, laying water lines, and more.”