A senior defense source on Wednesday said that Hamas is working hard to block Palestinian civilians from evacuating from Gaza City 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 regarding a specific number, but around 60,000-80,000 Palestinians have evacuated southward from Gaza City since the IDF started to urge evacuation. Those numbers come from a total of around one million Palestinians currently living 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 – to physically shooting or beating those who do try to flee.
In addition, Hamas’s public relations units are working to persuade Palestinians in Gaza City that it is their patriotic duty to stay as the terror organization prepares to repel the IDF’s invasion.
When questioned about what had happened in terms of protests against Hamas several 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 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, while some might only flee as artillery fire and aerial bombs start falling.
The defense official also said that there are now 100,000 tents designated to receive the fleeing population and that there are already around one million Palestinians living in other tents throughout the enclave.