Israel tells everyone in Gaza City to leave

An Israeli army battle tank moving during operations in the Gaza Strip, on Thursday. Pic/AFP

The Israeli military has ordered all Palestinians in Gaza City to leave the besieged territory as heavy bombardment continued to jolt the region ahead of ceasefire talks. The army dropped thousands of leaflets over the territory ordering "everyone in Gaza City", which was home to more than half a million people before the war, to leave for the south. It set out escape routes and warned that the city would "remain a dangerous combat zone".

Israel claimed the aim behind a revived offensive in Gaza was to seek out Hamas fighters who were allegedly regrouping in parts of the Strip. Wednesday's warning follows three partial evacuation orders from Israel as the troops along with tanks stormed into the city this week. Israel's war in Gaza has already displaced most of the Strip's 2.3 million people, with "nowhere safe" for them to escape.

The heavy strikes throughout Gaza in recent days, which have killed dozens of people, could be aimed at increasing pressure on Hamas during negotiations for a ceasefire, according to experts. The US, Egyptian and Qatari mediators are meeting with Israeli officials in Qatar for talks trying to push through a deal.

A White House national security spokesperson said the US was "cautiously optimistic that things are moving in a good direction". "There are still gaps remaining between the two sides. We believe those gaps can be narrowed," John Kirby told CNN.

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