Tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians have already fled the war-torn Gaza Strip following the establishment of the Israeli army, and many more are trying to flee their homes, but the two warring sides accuse each other of obstructing the process.

A little while ago the spokesman of the Israeli army said that Hamas is “stopping the civilians trying to leave” from the north of the Gaza Strip.

Jonathan Conricus said rockets were fired into Tel Aviv and southern Israel overnight and that fighting continued in and around the northern Gaza Strip.

It said Hamas has “issued warnings to civilians not to leave their homes” and in cases where people did not heed those warnings, Hamas “stopped civilians and convoys trying to escape.”

“If this is not the most heinous and despicable use of civilians during war, I don’t know what is, but it again shows the lack of value for human life by a terrorist organization like Hamas,” he said.

Regarding reports of vehicles with Gazans coming under Israeli fire, he said when “the so-called Gaza health ministry issues information with data approved by Hamas.”

Hamas: Israeli cigars against civilians

However, eyewitnesses and Hamas officials reported yesterday that Palestinians who were trying to move to the southern part of the Gaza Strip, passing through a sector that the Israeli army presented as safe, were killed in Israeli strikes.

The Israeli military has provided two routes for “safe movement” from north to south Gaza. But Hamas officials said Palestinian civilians were killed in the sector despite moving within the deadline.

According to the health ministry and the Hamas press service, dozens of civilians trying to flee to southern Gaza were killed in at least three locations after noon on Friday.

Yesterday Saturday, an AFP eyewitness said that “a truck carrying dozens of families was hit near Wadi Gaza”.

When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military did not comment on the report.

The agency notes that it was unable to independently verify whether the deaths were due to Israeli military strikes.

He was able to confirm images circulating on social media sites that corresponded to eyewitness accounts on Friday, but could not confirm that the explosions were caused by Israeli fire.

“Two vehicles were hit near a Kuwaiti hospital in the southern part of Gaza City,” a source close to Hamas’ security forces said on condition of anonymity.

Tal Heinrich, a spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office, told reporters on Saturday that the army was taking “every precaution” to avoid civilian deaths.

Hamas reported yesterday Saturday that “70 martyrs” and 200 wounded, including women and children, were counted in “Israel’s massacre” targeting displaced families, a “hate crime”.

Since the outbreak of war on October 7, at least 2,500 Palestinians have been killed, including more than 700 children.

At least 1,300 people have been killed in Israel, most of them in the attack launched by Hamas last Saturday, according to Israeli officials.