Israel Claims 'Precise Strike' on Hamas Leadership After Explosions Rock Doha
Security

Israel Vows 'Mighty Hurricane' in Gaza City Amid Tense Ceasefire Talks and Regional Strikes

Israel issues a 'final warning' for a 'mighty hurricane' on Gaza City, ordering a mass evacuation as it prepares a ground offensive. The move comes amid tense US-led ceasefire talks aimed at freeing hostages and escalating Israeli strikes across both Lebanon and Syria.

The al-Ruya Tower collapses in Gaza City's Rimal district following Israeli airstrikes, Sept. 8, 2025. (AFP)
The al-Ruya Tower collapses in Gaza City's Rimal district following Israeli airstrikes, Sept. 8, 2025. (AFP)
Middle East Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Benjamin Netanyahu Gaza Hamas-Israel conflict Regional Strikes Israel Strikes on Syria Lebanon

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Israel on Monday and Tuesday issued a series of dire warnings to the residents of Gaza City, telling them to evacuate immediately ahead of what it has threatened will be a "mighty hurricane" of stepped-up airstrikes and a major ground offensive if Hamas does not surrender and release the last of its hostages.

The ultimatum, which Israel’s defense minister described as a "final warning," has plunged the war-torn city into a state of panic and confusion, coming just as mediators press for a response to a new U.S.-led ceasefire proposal and as Israeli military actions escalate across the region with deadly strikes reported in Lebanon and Syria.

The Israeli military on Tuesday said it will act with "great force" in the Gaza City area, with its Arabic-language spokesperson explicitly telling residents to "Evacuate immediately via the Al-Rashid axis" in a post on the social media platform X.

The warning was reinforced by leaflets dropped from the air over the city, urging a mass flight southwards.

A man holds one of the leaflets dropped by the Israeli military on Gaza City, urging evacuation south to al-Mawasi, on September 9, 2025. (AFP)

This followed an ominous video statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, in which he declared that the recent destruction of 50 high-rise buildings, which he termed "terror towers," was merely a prelude.

"All of this is just a prelude, just the opening, to the main intensified operation -- the ground manoeuvre of our forces, who are now organising and assembling to enter Gaza City," Netanyahu said, adding a direct and stark message to the city's inhabitants: "I say to the residents: you have been warned, leave now!".

Ultimatum and Intensified Assault

The Israeli government has framed this looming operation as a decisive move to dismantle what it describes as Hamas's two remaining strongholds, complicating any last-ditch diplomatic efforts to avert a full-scale assault on the enclave's largest urban center, as per a report by Reuters.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz delivered the ultimatum in the starkest possible terms. "A mighty hurricane will hit the skies of Gaza City today, and the roofs of the terror towers will shake," Katz wrote on X. "This is a final warning to the murderers and rapists of Hamas in Gaza and in the luxury hotels abroad: Release the hostages and lay down your weapons - or Gaza will be destroyed, and you will be annihilated."

The intensified aerial campaign is already underway.

On Monday, Israeli forces targeted a fourth high-rise building in as many days, with AFP footage showing the 12-floor Al-Ruya tower, which had housed dozens of displaced families, crashing to the ground.

As detailed by Reuters, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a warning just three hours prior to the strike, urging those inside and in hundreds of surrounding tents to leave.

The IDF justified the strike by stating that Hamas militants had been operating near the building and had "used it throughout the war to plan and advance terror attacks against IDF forces," as cited in the Reuters report.

The destruction has left residents like Laila Saqr, 40, reeling from the loss of not just infrastructure but also memory and normalcy. "All we hear are bombings and ambulances carrying martyrs," she told AFP by telephone, recalling how she used to visit a gym in the now-destroyed tower.

"Israel destroys everything -- even the memories. If they could, they would strip the very oxygen from the air." Hamas, for its part, condemned Netanyahu's threat as an "explicit act of forced displacement."

A 'Last Chance' for Peace

The military escalation is running parallel to a tense and high-stakes diplomatic effort to secure a ceasefire. According to Reuters, a new U.S.-led proposal was delivered to Hamas on Sunday, accompanied by a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump that it represented the militant group's "last chance."

On Sunday, Trump stated, "the Israelis have accepted my terms. It is time for Hamas to accept as well. I have warned Hamas about the consequences of not accepting. This is my last warning."

This was confirmed by Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who said on Monday that Israel has accepted Trump's proposal.

According to a senior Israeli official, cited in Reuters report, the proposal calls for Hamas to return all 48 remaining living and dead hostages on the very first day of a ceasefire, during which further negotiations to end the war would be held.

This demand represents a significant hurdle, as Hamas has consistently stated it intends to hold some hostages until a final agreement is reached that includes a "clear announcement of an end to the war" and a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.

Mediators are working frantically to bridge the gap. Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met with Hamas political leaders in Doha on Monday, pressing them to "respond positively" to the American offer, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters.

Hamas's public response has been ambiguous.

Both AFP and Reuters reports detailed that Hamas was ready to "immediately sit at the negotiating table" after receiving "some ideas from the American side," yet a senior official, Bassem Naim, characterized the U.S. proposal as "preliminary" ideas seemingly designed to elicit a refusal.

Humanitarian Crisis and Mounting Casualties

The threats against Gaza City, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are living in ruins after returning to the area, risk compounding an already catastrophic humanitarian situation.

International critics have warned that Israel’s plan could deepen the plight of Gaza's 2.2 million people, who are facing a critical risk of famine, per Reuters report.

The death toll from the nearly two-year war continues to climb. According to the health ministry in Gaza, cited by AFP, Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed at least 64,522 Palestinians, a figure the United Nations considers reliable.

The ministry added on Monday that six more Palestinians, including two children, had died of malnutrition and starvation in the preceding 24 hours, raising the total deaths from such causes to at least 393.

Israel, which controls all supplies entering the enclave, maintains that the extent of hunger has been exaggerated.

According to both AFP and Reuters, the fighting on Monday claimed at least 40 Palestinian lives, according to medics, including Osama Balousha, a journalist for Palestinian media.

His death brings the number of journalists killed in the conflict to nearly 250, according to Palestinian authorities.

The Israeli military also announced the deaths of four of its soldiers in northern Gaza on Monday after militants threw an explosive device into their tank.

Conflict Spills Across Regional Borders

The intensified focus on Gaza City has not contained the conflict, which continues to spill across the region. On Tuesday, Lebanese state media reported that an Israeli drone strike targeted a car in an area some 30 kilometers south of Beirut.

This followed deadly Israeli raids on Monday in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, which the Israeli military said hit "targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization" and which Lebanon's health ministry said killed five people.

These hostilities persist despite a November truce and a Lebanese government plan, under U.S. pressure, to disarm Hezbollah.

Lebanese army soldiers and security forces deploy near a vehicle that was hit by a reported drone-strike at the entrance of the village of Barja, about 30 kilometres south of Beirut, on September 9, 2025. (AFP)

Simultaneously, Israeli airstrikes were reported in Syria on Monday evening. According to Syria TV, Israeli aircraft launched raids on military sites in the countryside of Homs and Latakia. The strikes occurred as the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation reported a potential meeting this week between Israeli and Syrian officials, adding another layer of complexity to the regional tensions.

Israeli warplanes strike rural areas of Homs and Latakia, Sept. 8, 2025. (Syria TV)

The violence also struck Jerusalem, where a shooting at a bus stop killed six people, including a Spanish citizen, in an attack that Hamas praised.

This confluence of events underscores the fragility of the entire region, as the world watches to see if the "mighty hurricane" will be unleashed on Gaza City or if a fragile peace can be salvaged at the eleventh hour.

 
Dr. Kamaran Aziz ,
Fly Erbil Advertisment