IDF Open 'Evacuation Corridor' to Civilians In North Gaza For Fourth Day

Since Israel declared war on Gaza, the IDF has publicly called on Gazan civilians to relocate to the south of the besieged enclave towards the Rafah crossing that is situated on the border with Egypt.

On Saturday 4 November, Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, an Arabic-language Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson, announced that an additional humanitarian route was opened to civilians who have been ordered to relocate to the south of Gaza.

In a statement, Adraee addressed Gazan civilians in Arabic, ordering: "For your safety, take advantage of the time to move south beyond Wadi Gaza."

The route was first opened by Israel from 13:00 to 16:00 and facilitated the movement of thousands of civilians.

The IDF said that they were forced to open an additional evacuation corridor and accused Hamas, the proscribed terrorist group that has governed Gaza since 2007, of blocking the main road that runs from the north to the south of the Strip.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the IDF wrote: "Hamas attempted to prevent Gazan civilians from evacuating, including by firing at IDF soldiers sent to open the route and facilitate the secure movement of civilians."

The accusation statement captioned two drone images captured by IDF radar systems that showed Hamas launching missiles towards the new route – according to the IDF.

With the face-to-face conflict between Hamas and the IDF intensifying, the IDF reported that they have been reopening the new corridor for four consecutive days.

While some, 800,000 people are thought to have fled south so far, several others have insisted on staying in the north of the enclave.

The Palestinian civilians that have decided to remain in the north, have noted that there are ongoing humanitarian woes and airstrikes taking place in the south of Gaza too.

Since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack on Israel on 7 October, which resulted in the slaughter of 1,400 Israeli citizens, more than 10,000 Palestinians have been killed by IDF airstrikes in Gaza.

With almost 50 per cent of Gaza's original population, of more than 2.3 million, being home to children, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health reported that 4,237 children have been killed in the assault.

The IDF noted that its troops will continue to conduct their on-the-ground invasion and capture of Hamas militants while facilitating the movement of Palestinian civilians to the south.

Together with the Israeli force, Avi Issacharoff, the founder of the Netflix series Fauda, said that it is a "known fact" that Hamas have a headquarters under the Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

The Al-Shifa Hospital is the largest medical facility and hospital in the Gaza Strip and is located in the north of Gaza.

For years, "it was something the IDF knew about – every kid in Gaza knows that under Shifa there is a Hamas headquarters. But no one talks about it which is why we decided to show it", Issacharoff added.

In response to the mounting concerns regarding the breach of international law amongst world leaders, and accusations of a Palestinian genocide increasing, the IDF has said: "We are not at war with the people of Gaza."

The Ambassador of Israel to the UN, Gilad Erdan, told the UN that once Hamas lay down their arms, turn themselves in and return all Israeli civilians, "the war would end immediately".

According to Israel, there are currently around 240 civilians who were kidnapped by Hamas on 7 October, being held in Gaza.

Nine-month-old baby Kfir has been named as one of the youngest unaccounted-for children who was seized by the militants last month.