IDF opens 2nd evacuation route out of Gaza City – without security checks

There will be no security checks on those fleeing through Salah al-Din Street as IDF responds to international pressure to ease conditions for Gaza civilians.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The IDF announced Wednesday that it was opening a second evacuation route out of Gaza City for 48 hours to enable residents to flee the war zone more quickly.

Arabic-language spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee announced the opening at noon of “a temporary transportation route via Salah al-Din Street,” the main north-south route in the Gaza Strip, which would be closed again at noon Friday.

This road passes Gaza City to the east, while the first evacuation route the IDF allowed, the al-Rashid Road, runs along the coast in the west.

Salah al-Din has been used before as a safe route, especially early in the war for those fleeing south and during the ceasefire early this year, when Gazans were permitted to return to their homes in the north.

The army said that no security checks will be carried out on the road.

While this will speed up the evacuation, it raises the risk that Hamas fighters could escape among the refugees and attempt to take some of the 48 remaining hostages with them. Twenty are still believed to be alive.

The coastal road has been heavily congested ever since the IDF began bombing Hamas sites in Gaza City about two weeks ago – especially in the past day, when the ground incursion began.

News outlets have shown images of masses of pedestrians, trucks and cars crowded bumper-to-bumper on Al-Rashid Road heading south.

Eyewitness said it took many hours to reach the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone.

Residents should use only the yellow-marked paths on official maps identifying designated safe passages and “obey the instructions of the security forces and the traffic signs,” Adraee said, warning that Hamas is trying to mislead residents with fake maps and directions.

“We call on civilians not to fall for rumors and disinformation,” the IDF said.

On Tuesday, the army accused the terror organization of creating “the biggest human shield in history in Gaza City. It is preventing the population from evacuating” through propaganda, threats, and even violence against people trying to reach Al-Mawasi.

Israel has repeatedly said it has stocked the zone with shelters, food, water and medical aid.

Over the past two days, the air force and Artillery Corps have bombed more than 150 terror targets in Gaza City, including a weapons-production facility preparing explosive charges for streets where IDF troops were expected, the IDF said.

Tanks and ground troops are advancing further into the city in an operation the army admits will take several months to fully clear Hamas guerrillas from the dense urban area.

Gazan newspapers reported Wednesday morning that phone and internet connections in the city had collapsed, which could severely hamper Hamas communications.

EvacuationGaza Cityhumanitarian zoneIDFIsrael-Hamas war