GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center )The Hamas Movement said that the threats made by Israeli Army Minister Israel Katz who declared that anyone remaining inside Gaza City would be classified as “a fighter or supporter of terrorism” represent a clear embodiment of “arrogance and disregard for the international community and the principles of international and humanitarian law.”
Katz explicitly threatened the city’s residents with bloodshed should they fail to leave, saying in a statement on Wednesday, “This is a final opportunity for Gaza residents who wish to do so to move south and leave Hamas members isolated inside Gaza City itself, facing the army’s full-scale operations. Those who remain in Gaza will be considered terrorists and supporters of terrorism.”
According to Katz, the Israeli army “is preparing for every scenario and is determined to continue its operations until all hostages (Israelis held in Gaza) are freed and Hamas is disarmed, on the path toward ending the war.”
In a press statement on Wednesday, Hamas stressed that Katz’s remarks pave the way for a new escalation of war crimes against civilians.
The Movement added that what Israeli leaders are committing against the Palestinian people in the Strip, especially in Gaza City, constitutes “a crime of ethnic cleansing and systematic forced displacement carried out brutally and in full view of the world,” noting that the ongoing military operations fall within the scope of war crimes against humanity.
The statement pointed out that the Israeli army continues its assaults by bombing homes on top of their residents and committing massacres. It pointed to the massacre of the Abu Kamil family in Al-Daraj neighborhood, the massacre at Al-Falah school in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood which targeted a Civil Defense team, the bombing of a water truck that caused multiple deaths, as well as successive massacres in the central and southern areas of the Strip.
Hamas urged the international community, as well as Arab and Islamic states, to act immediately to stop these unprecedented and grave violations, calling for concrete measures that would deter Israel and push for its leaders to be prosecuted for what it described as crimes against humanity.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Israeli army announced the closure of Al-Rashid Street to Palestinians, allowing only its use for displacement from Gaza City to the south of the Strip. It explained that moving south “will be permitted for those who have not yet managed to evacuate Gaza City. At this stage, the army is allowing the southward movement without inspection.”
For weeks, the Israeli army has been intensifying its bloody bombardment of Gaza City and demolishing its residential buildings in an attempt to force Palestinians to flee, paving the way for the city’s occupation.
Backed by the United States, Israel has since October 7, 2023, been committing genocide in Gaza, leaving 66,148 martyrs, 168,716 wounded, and a famine that has claimed the lives of 442 Palestinians, including 147 children.
