IDF Says It Controls 40% Of Gaza City, Readies Larger Offensive As Civilians Weigh Flight Or Risk

by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff

GAZA CITY/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – Israel’s military says it now controls roughly 40% of Gaza City and is “nearing control of half its territory,” as preparations intensify for a wider push to seize the rest of the enclave’s largest urban center.

IDF spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said the city was declared a combat zone last week and that multiple districts have been designated “red zones,” with evacuation orders ahead of expected heavy fighting. Defrin rejected reports of internal dissent, stressing that Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir “fully supports the plan to seize Gaza City.” If no alternative “day-after” framework emerges, Defrin added, Israel will establish a military government in the Gaza Strip.

Civilians caught between evacuation orders and fear of permanent displacement

Israeli officials estimate 70,000-80,000 people have fled Gaza City since Friday’s declaration, most in the past 72 hours–still a fraction of the city’s estimated one million residents. Humanitarian bodies report many residents are reluctant or unable to move again after multiple displacements since 2023, amid soaring costs, scarce transport, and limited space in the south.

Israeli leaders frame the Gaza City operation as “the decisive blow against Hamas,” calling the area the group’s principal stronghold and key to freeing remaining hostages. Aid groups warn that further displacement will deepen already crisis-level shortages of food, medicine, and shelter.

IDF: Hamas impeding evacuations; Hamas alleges “forced displacement”

The IDF released a recording it says captures a Gaza City resident complaining that Hamas operatives are blocking routes south, allegedly to keep civilians as human shields and amplify claims of “forced displacement.” Israeli security officials say tens of thousands have nonetheless bypassed checkpoints.

Hamas rejects the evacuation plan as “forced displacement,” arguing that designated humanitarian areas–including al-Mawasi and central-Gaza camps–are overcrowded and unsafe. Israel counters that it is scaling up humanitarian infrastructure in the south, in coordination with the UN, the U.S., and regional partners, aiming to support up to two million people with expanded aid deliveries and repairs to water and health facilities.

Troop build-up and training under “Gideon’s Chariots B”

Ahead of the anticipated assault–expected to begin mid-month–the IDF says it has initiated Operation “Gideon’s Chariots B,” calling up tens of thousands of reservists and expanding training in open-terrain and urban combat. New equipment, including drones for company and platoon commanders, has been deployed. The military has also upgraded infrastructure such as ranges, climate-controlled housing, and showers, while its Technology and Logistics Directorate prepares gear, vehicle maintenance, daily logistics, and medical/mental-health support.

On Wednesday, the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee voted 8-5 to extend the emergency call-up order through September 30, after an earlier 8-7 extension on August 18, moves that have sparked opposition criticism over reservist burden and debates about ultra-Orthodox draft policy.

Separately, the IDF and Shin Bet said they killed Musbah Salim Musbah Dayyah, identified as the new Gaza head of the Mujahideen Brigades, in Nuseirat last week. The military alleges Dayyah advanced attacks in the West Bank and Israel and against IDF forces. The IDF says it has eliminated several successive leaders of the group in recent months and released footage of the strike.

With Israeli armor and infantry pressing from multiple directions, vast tracts of Gaza City pulverized, and humanitarian corridors under dispute, the coming weeks may determine whether the IDF can break Hamas’s urban defenses while averting a deeper civilian catastrophe–an outcome that will hinge on evacuation flows, aid scale-up, and the viability of any governance plan for the day after combat ends.

Latest Worthy News