Israel claims Hamas not allowing residents to evacuate for propaganda purposes

As the Israeli military gears up to launch ground operations in Gaza City, the country’s officials have alleged that Hamas operatives are not allowing residents to evacuate and move further South, and will use them as meat shields in its fight, while peddling the narrative of “forced displacement” to sway global opinion.
As per the IDF’s estimates, 70,000-80,000 residents have fled Gaza City, most of them in the past 72 hours, which was even before any official calls for evacuation were made, reports Times of Israel.
Over the weekend, the number stood at about 10,000 out of the city’s estimated one million residents. Officials expect departures to continue as the IDF presses its campaign to capture all of Gaza.
As of now Israel controls somewhere between 75-80% of the total enclave, and has installed both a buffer zone, and a military corridor.
“The Hamas terror organisation is doing everything it can to block the population’s movement southward to use civilians as human shields and for propaganda purposes,” one security official said.
“In practice, the public’s barrier of fear has been broken, and tens of thousands of residents have managed to bypass Hamas checkpoints and evacuate the city.”
While Jerusalem insists that it is amplifying its development of humanitarian infrastructure in southern Gaza, particularly in the al-Mawasi coastal area, in coordination with the UN, the US and regional partners, Hamas has termed the evacuation “forced displacement.”
The group’s media office accused Israel of spreading “lies and misleading maps,” cautioning that designated humanitarian zones, including al-Mawasi and refugee camps in central Gaza, are already overcrowded and unsafe.
Hamas-run outlets, including the al-Haras channel, have echoed the claims, asserting that no area in southern Gaza can be considered safe. UNI ANV SSP