Hamas would prepare for street fights on the street as Israeli forces near downtown Gaza

Israeli forces approached the center of Gaza City, while Hamas fighters would have gathered in the middle of the fears of street fights with intense street.

Thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee the city since Israel launched its offensive on the ground last week.

Israel describes the city as the “last bastion” of Hamas and says that its objective is to eliminate terrorists “and save its 48 remaining hostages, 20 of which are considered alive.

The BBC checked the images of an Israeli tank in Hamid Junction, about 1.5 km (0.9 mile) from the Al-Shifa Central Hospital. Israeli armored vehicles were also said to have been seen near the main UN enclosure in the south of Gaza City, about 700 m (2,297 feet) from the center.

The BBC spoke to a figure in Hamas which claims that the militant group is willing to call thousands of fighters in the city, which raises the fear of intense fighting in dense urban areas where thousands of civilians remain.

He said that Izz Al-Din Al-Haddad, the group’s military commander, ordered all the combatants available on the other side of the strip to converge the city, telling them to prepare for a “final and decisive battle”.

Israeli defense forces (FDI) estimated last week that up to 3,000 Hamas fighters were in the city. Hamas’ figure said they had 5,000 fighters and threatened suicide attacks, although it was not a tactic in Hamas widely used in this recent conflict. The BBC cannot independently check these figures and Hamas has not officially commented.

International journalists have been prohibited by Israel from entering the Gaza Strip since the start of the war almost two years ago, which makes the assertions on both sides difficult. Some journalists were taken to Gaza by the FDI under controlled access.

Israel has tried to destroy Gaza tunnels to prevent activists from using them for surprise attacks. But the Hamas activist said that some remained intact and that the group had learned of Israel’s successes to destroy the militant units that tried to hold the ground in a fight.

Before being killed by Israel, the previous military leader of the group, Mohammed DEIF, gave orders that the militant group adopted a movement towards guerrilla tactics and tried to alleviate their catastrophic losses.

According to residents of Gaza City, Israel reacted to this by performing rapid thrusts in urban areas, before retreating in a few hours.

The Israeli media also said that FDI used damaged armored vehicles, filled with explosives and equipped with remote control capacities, to attack Hamas positions or destroy the buildings used to hide fighters.

Small quadcopter drones equipped with speakers have also been deployed by Israel to warn civilians to leave, distributing panic in several districts.

Thousands of Palestinian families have continued to flee south along the Al-Rashid coastal road, the only road currently authorized by the Israeli army. The UN estimated Tuesday that at least 321,000 people have fled south since mid-August. The IDF puts the total figure at 640,000.

The trip has become prohibitive, families paying more than $ 3,000 (£ 2450) for transport, well beyond the means of most Gaza residents. Many were forced to abandon the personal effects that they could not bring foot.

Those who stay in Gaza City – considered hundreds of thousands – are faced with the constant threat of bombing, to collapse hospitals and to reduce food and water. An agency supported by the UN confirmed a famine in the region at the end of August.

The Israeli army launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the attack by Hamas against southern Israel on October 7, 2023, during which around 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 65,419 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas Ministry of Hamas in the territory.