IDF prepares to relocate residents to southern Gaza, spokesperson says

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that the plans for the new offensive were still being formulated.

Gaza residents will be provided with tents and other shelter equipment starting from Sunday ahead of relocating them from combat zones to safe ones in the south of the enclave, the IDF announced on Saturday.

This comes days after Israel said it intended to launch a new offensive to seize control of northern Gaza City, the enclave's largest urban center, in a plan that raised international alarm over the fate of the demolished strip, home to about 2.2 million people.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that before launching the offensive, the civilian population will be evacuated to what he described as "safe zones" from Gaza City, which he called Hamas' last stronghold.

The shelter equipment will be transferred via the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza by the United Nations and other international relief organizations after being inspected by defense ministry personnel, the military said.

Resources for Palestinian civilians

The military declined to comment when asked whether the shelter equipment was intended for Gaza City's population estimated at around one million people presently, and whether the site to which they will be relocated in southern Gaza would be the area of Rafah, which borders Egypt.

Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that the plans for the new offensive were still being formulated.

However, the IDF has already increased operations on the outskirts of Gaza City over the past week. Residents in the neighborhoods of Zeitorun and Shejaia have reported heavy Israeli aerial and tank fire which has destroyed many houses.

The Israeli military on Friday said that it had begun a new operation in Zeitun to locate explosives, destroy tunnels and kill terrorists in the area.