Israel releases evacuation map in Gaza Strip

The Israeli military released a map dividing the Gaza Strip into hundreds of numbered zones and asked residents to evacuate before they attacked.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on December 1 that it had released an evacuation map in the Gaza Strip, dividing the area into hundreds of numbered zones to "allow civilians to evacuate when required to ensure safety."

The IDF asked civilians in the Gaza Strip to pay attention to the numbers indicating their area of residence and to watch for future announcements. "The civilians in Gaza are not our enemies," the IDF said, adding that it was "making every effort to distinguish" between civilians and armed groups in the area.

Residents in some areas received a warning via SMS that same day, saying "The IDF will begin an attack on your area of residence with the aim of destroying Hamas." "Stay away from military activities of any kind," the warning message read. The explosions began about 10 minutes after the message was sent.

Map of the Gaza Strip divided into numbered areas published on December 1. Photo: IDF — Map of the Gaza Strip divided into numbered areas published on December 1. Photo: *IDF*

Before launching its offensive against the Gaza Strip, Israel ordered civilians in the northern part of the region to evacuate south. However, some UN reports said that one-third of the casualties in the fighting were in the southern Gaza Strip.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas ended on December 1 after the militant group failed to provide a list of hostages to be released before the agreed deadline. An hour before the ceasefire ended, Israel said it had intercepted several rockets fired from the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of "failing to fulfill its obligation to release all female hostages and launching rockets at Israeli civilians".

Mr. Netanyahu affirmed that when resuming fighting, Israel will have to achieve the goals of "rescuing hostages, eliminating Hamas" and ensuring that its civilians are not threatened by attacks from the Gaza Strip.

The fighting between Israel and Hamas has entered its eighth week following the militant group's attack on October 7. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on November 30 called on Israel to "minimize casualties among innocent Palestinian civilians, including clearly and precisely designating areas out of range of fire to ensure their safety."