The Israeli military on Sunday instructed Palestinians to leave parts of northern Gaza in anticipation of an escalation in operations against Hamas. Meanwhile, former U.S. President Donald Trump urged Israel to “make the deal in Gaza” as efforts to reach a ceasefire and bring an end to the conflict gained momentum.
Later in the day, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was expected to be briefed on the status of Israel’s military campaign. According to a senior security source, the military plans to inform him that the operation is nearing its goals, though expanding combat to other parts of Gaza could pose a risk to the remaining Israeli hostages.
Despite ongoing discussions, the military issued fresh evacuation alerts via X (formerly Twitter) and text messages, advising residents in northern Gaza to leave the area amid the expected surge in fighting.
The area had already been ordered to evacuate on May 29 and has been part of a no-go zone since.
Civilians on Sunday were instructed to head for the Mawasi area on the coast in Gaza’s south.
“The IDF is operating with extreme force in these areas, and these military operations will escalate, intensify, and extend westward to the city center to destroy the capabilities of the terrorist organizations,” said the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee in a post on X.
“Hamas is leading you toward catastrophe. Returning to active combat zones puts your lives at serious risk,” he warned.
The evacuation directive applied to the Jabalia region and much of Gaza City. According to medics and local residents, Israeli strikes intensified early Sunday in Jabalia, destroying multiple homes and leaving at least six people dead.
In southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, five people reportedly lost their lives after an airstrike hit a tent camp near Mawasi, medical sources said.
As condemnation grew internationally over civilian casualties near food distribution points backed by Israel, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot stated on Saturday night that France — along with other European nations — is prepared to help ensure the safe delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
He also noted that such a plan would address Israel’s fears that groups like Hamas are seizing relief supplies before they reach civilians. Barrot did not provide any details on how France could help secure aid distribution to Gaza’s civilians.
New ceasefire Deals
The intensified fighting comes as Arab mediators, Egypt and Qatar, backed by the United States, begin a new ceasefire effort to halt the 20-month-old conflict and secure the release of hostages being held by Hamas.
Interest in resolving the Gaza conflict has heightened in the wake of US and Israeli bombings of Iran’s nuclear facilities, with Trump pushing Israel to return to the negotiating table in recent days.
Trump posted on Truth Social in the early hours of Sunday morning that Israel should “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!! DJT,” appearing to press Netanyahu to clinch the ceasefire agreement, which Trump had earlier predicted would be inked within a week.
The statement followed just hours after Trump renewed his call for Israeli prosecutors to drop the corruption charges against Netanyahu, arguing that “he is currently engaged in negotiating a deal with Hamas, which will involve the return of the hostages.”
A Hamas official told Reuters the group had informed the mediators it was ready to resume ceasefire talks, but reaffirmed the group’s outstanding demands that any deal must end the war and secure an Israeli withdrawal from the coastal territory.
Israel launched its campaign in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are holding 50 hostages, including 49 abducted by Hamas-led terrorists on October 7, 2023. They include the bodies of at least 28 confirmed dead by the IDF. Twenty are believed to be alive and there are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said. Hamas is also holding the body of an IDF soldier killed in Gaza in 2014.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 56,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.
