Israeli military prepares to relocate residents to 'safe' zones in southern Gaza

The Israeli military will provide Gaza residents with tents and other equipment starting from Sunday ahead of relocating them from combat zones to "safe" ones in the south of the enclave, military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said 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 centre, in a plan that raised international alarm over the fate of the demolished strip, home to about 2.2 million people.

The equipment will be transferred via the Israeli crossing of Kerem Shalom by the United Nations and other international relief organisations after being thoroughly inspected by defence ministry personnel, Adraee added in a post on X.

Israel's COGAT, the military agency that coordinates aid, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the preparations were part of the new plan.

Taking over the city of about one million Palestinians complicates ceasefire efforts to end the nearly

two-year war

, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu follows through with his plan to take on Hamas' two remaining strongholds.

Netanyahu said Israel had no choice but to complete the job and defeat Hamas as the Palestinian militant group has refused to lay down its arms.

Hamas said it would not disarm unless an independent Palestinian state was established.

Israel already controls about 75% of Gaza.

The war began when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israeli authorities say 20 of the remaining 50 hostages in Gaza are alive.

Israel's subsequent military assault has killed over 61,000 Palestinians, Gaza's health ministry says. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations.