Cairo, 15 September 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Thousands of Palestinians fled Gaza City overnight as Israeli military strikes intensified, according to multiple accounts on Monday.

The Times of Israel, citing Israeli military estimates, said around 20,000 people left the Gaza Strip's main city during the night.

Palestinians also reported that thousands had fled from various neighbourhoods toward the south of the territory, but that many others have refused to leave the city.

Israel announced in August that its forces would take full control of Gaza City to target suspected Hamas units holed up there. Residents were urged to move to so-called "humanitarian zones" further south.

Despite the danger to their lives, many do not want to move to designated safe zones, as Israel has attacked such areas in the past.

The Israeli military told dpa that more than 300,000 Palestinians have recently left the city for other parts of the strip. Hamas-controlled media in Gaza put the number of evacuees at roughly 350,000.

Gaza City was previously home to about 1 million people.

Witnesses told dpa that Israeli attacks on Gaza City in recent hours have been particularly heavy and hit numerous buildings. Medics said at least 16 people had been killed since midnight.

The Israeli military has destroyed dozens of high-rise residential buildings in Gaza City, accusing Hamas of using them as observation posts and for planting explosives.

Photo: EPA archive