Israel intensified its offensive in Gaza City on Wednesday, urging civilians to evacuate as tanks pressed closer to the urban centre and airstrikes killed at least 30 people across the enclave, according to local health authorities.

The military announced the reopening of the Salahudin Road for 48 hours to allow residents to head south, warning in leaflets that Palestinians had until Friday lunchtime to leave. “Movement must only take place via the streets marked in yellow on the map as the route for southward transit,” the flyers said.

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Leaflets that were dropped by Israeli forces, ordering residents of Gaza City to evacuate, fall next to a damaged building in Gaza City September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas

Despite the evacuation order, many residents remain reluctant to leave. “Even if we want to leave Gaza City, is there any guarantee we would be able to come back? Will the war ever end? That’s why I prefer to die here, in Sabra, my neighbourhood,” said Ahmed, a schoolteacher.

Tanks edge forward, assault may last months

A day after Israel formally launched a ground operation to seize Gaza’s largest city, tanks advanced short distances from three directions but no major breakthroughs were reported.

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An Israeli tank manoeuvres on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, in Israel September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Amir Cohen TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

An Israeli official said the focus remained on clearing civilians from Gaza City before intensifying combat in the coming months. The official estimated around 100,000 residents would remain in the city, which could take months to capture. The campaign could pause if a ceasefire were reached, though prospects appear dim following Israeli strikes on Hamas political leaders in Doha that angered Qatar, a key mediator.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to target Hamas leaders “anywhere,” defying global criticism, including from the United States. Visiting Doha on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said there was “a very short window of time” to secure a ceasefire before Israel escalates its assault.

Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, move southward after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Humanitarian crisis deepens

Much of Gaza City, already devastated early in the conflict, now faces further destruction. Around 1 million people had returned to live among the ruins, and the latest offensive risks confining them to overcrowded encampments in the south, where aid groups warn of famine.

The U.N. and international governments have condemned Israel’s operation and mass displacement orders. On Tuesday, a U.N. Commission of Inquiry accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, a claim Israel rejected as “scandalous” and “fake.”

Israeli forces currently control Gaza City’s eastern suburbs and continue to pound the southeast, northern, and coastal districts. In the Nuseirat refugee camp, an airstrike demolished a high-rise building on Wednesday, sending residents fleeing in panic.

The Hamas-run Gaza media office said Israel has destroyed or damaged 1,600 residential buildings and 13,000 tents since August 10, when Netanyahu announced his plan to seize full control of the enclave.

Displaced Palestinians, fleeing northern Gaza due to an Israeli military operation, sit atop a truck carrying belongings, as they move southward after Israeli forces ordered residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south, in the central Gaza Strip, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

Heavy toll on civilians

Gaza’s health ministry said over 64,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its military response to the October 2023 Hamas attack, which left 1,200 Israelis dead and 251 taken hostage.

“Gaza is being wiped out. A city that is thousands of years old is being wiped out in front of the whole cowardly world,” Ahmed, the teacher, said.