Israel-Hamas War: 'Flee Gaza while you still can,' IDF advises Palestinians

The Israel Defence Force (IDF) on Tuesday advised Palestinians living in Gaza to flee to Egypt “while they still can” amid the ongoing war with Hamas. According to a report by the Times of Israel, Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told reporters, “Rafah crossing is still open. Anyone who can get out, I would advise them to get out.” Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the common crossing between Egypt and Gaza, the Rafah crossing, was partially closed on Monday. Earlier, Egypt had urged Israel to exercise restraint and Hamas to hold its captives in good condition to keep open the possibility of de-escalation soon, although successive Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip made mediation difficult, said the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity. Israel refutes claim that Egypt warned of attacks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has rejected claims made by Egypt that it has warned Israel of “something big” repeatedly. “The report to the effect that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu received a message in advance from Egypt is absolutely false,” the prime minister’s office said on X, formerly Twitter.

It added, “No message in advance has arrived from Egypt and the Prime Minister has neither spoken, nor met, with the head of Egyptian intelligence since the formation of the government, neither directly nor indirectly. This is totally fake news.”