Hamas prevents evacuation from Gaza City with threats and attacks on civilians

60,000-80,000 out of one million have left the city, with the majority still staying because of threats from Hamas terrorists.

A senior defense source on Wednesday said that Hamas is working hard to block Palestinian civilians from evacuating from Gaza City in northern Gaza despite the military’s two-week effort to encourage them to leave as the clock ticks down to an expected large-scale invasion.

To date, there are varying estimates between Israel and the UN, but around 60,000-80,000 Palestinians have evacuated southward from Gaza City since the IDF started to press for this.

Those numbers come from a total of around one million Palestinians currently present in the Gaza City area.

According to the defense source, Hamas wants to keep as many civilians as possible in Gaza City, both to serve directly as human shields from IDF attacks and also to place more diplomatic pressure on Israel to end the war in the event that Palestinian civilians are caught up in the crossfire.

In the senior defense official’s view, Hamas views the deaths of its own population as a strategic asset to play against Israel’s reputation globally.

Hamas’s tactics to keep Palestinians from evacuating

Hamas tactics to prevent Palestinians from leaving Gaza City have varied from scaring them by (falsely) claiming that conditions in southern Gaza are worse in terms of insufficient tents, food, and medical care, versus physically shooting or beating those Palestinians who do try to flee.

In addition, Hamas’s public relations units are working to reassure Palestinians in Gaza City with the idea that it is their patriotic duty to stay in Gaza City as Hamas prepares to try to repel the IDF’s invasion.

Questioned about what happened to protests against Hamas from some months ago, the source acknowledged that those had eventually died down.

The senior defense official did add that there are still parts of Gaza over which Hamas has weaker control due to resistance by tribal clans or gangs, but that these are limited problems for Hamas and have not taken a broader toll on its control over Gaza.

Despite Hamas’s efforts, the senior defense source expressed optimism that, closer to the real start of hostilities, most Palestinian civilians will flee.

The source added that possibly around 200,000 civilians might stay longer, and some might only flee as artillery fire and aerial bombs start falling.

Next, the defense official said that there are now 100,000 tents designated to receive the fleeing population.

In addition, the sources said that there are already around one million Palestinians living in other tents throughout the Strip.