Israel’s military announced the immediate evacuation of Gaza City on Tuesday, September 9, 2025. Gaza City, the home of approximately 1 million Palestinian civilians, has been warned of a full-scale operation targeted at what is thought to be Hamas’s headquarters. Simultaneously, the humanitarian crisis deepens as a flotilla carrying aid and led by Greta Thunberg is attacked by Israeli drones near Tunisia.
Immediate evacuation from northern Gaza and Gaza City is ordered
What is named as a “controversial military takeover” by CNN World, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has noted its determination to issue “an intensified ground maneuver” in Gaza City, as the city is suspected to be where Hamas is based. The announcement of an immediate evacuation from Gaza City and northern Gaza will undoubtedly result in further destruction, displacement, and death, according to United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk.
The evacuation order was too late: it was delivered hours after military airstrikes had already targeted high-rise towers in Gaza City. The military of Israel began taking control in the past few weeks, with control over approximately 40% of the largest city, in which a large number of Palestine’s population resides. In Israel, civilians have begun to protest against the state’s decision and actions to take Gaza City as they fear for their people and family, with remaining hostages and soldiers at high risk.
Greta Thunberg-led flotilla carrying aid comes under Israeli drone attacks
Tunisian officials claim the fire on the Greta Thunberg-led flotilla was caused by “a cigarette”; however, organizers of the vessel are sure the fire was a result of Israeli drones targeting the flotilla, especially as Israel has already denounced the delivery of such aid and threatened to arrest and detain Greta Thunberg.
The investigation into the event is ongoing, and the team has reported that they will not be deterred by the acts of the Israeli military, and the mission to deliver aid to Gaza will continue as planned. This again shines a light on Israel’s attempt to ‘starve’ out Hamas through the manipulation of Gaza’s civilians.
Escalation or ceasefire? International pressures and complications
Sources have told CNN that Israel has planned to not only attack Gaza City, but also hold off airdrops providing humanitarian aid and prevent the entry of trucks carrying aid into northern Gaza. Less than 10% of the population of Gaza City had evacuated as of September 10, 2025, and these actions by Israel can be seen as a strategy designed to force the displacement of residents to the south of Gaza by way of food deprivation.
Despite the military actions taken by Israel, the nation has also stated its intentions of providing Gaza and its civilians with over 100,000 tents within three weeks: “We want to flood Gaza with tents,” an Israeli official has stated. However, up until this point, only 3,000 tents have entered the strip of Gaza.
Al-Mawasi has been declared a “humanitarian zone”
Along with both the attacks on aid shipments, such as the Greta Thunberg-led flotilla off the port of Tunisia, and the skyscrapers of Gaza City, Israel has declared a “humanitarian area” – Al-Mawasi. This area is located toward the south of Gaza, along the coast of the strip. Although Israel’s actions can be viewed as a reaction to international pressures, with nations like the United Kingdom and Belgium having openly expressed support for Palestine’s statehood and verbally protesting what has now been labeled as genocide.
With attacks, evacuation orders, drone strikes, and the creation of humanitarian areas, the situation between Israel and Hamas is desperate. Palestinian civilians are exposed to starvation, famine, and displacement – the result of years of tension with no resolution. Ceasefires have been urged, aid has been sent, and large and powerful nations have protested; however, the conflict continues, having run for 35 months as of September 7, 2025.