Some 500,000 civilians have fled Gaza City so far, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Sunday as the military said another division had entered the city to combat the Hamas terrorists remaining there.

The presence of civilians in the city is one of the central issues in the current fighting. Hamas is trying to use the civilians in the densely populated city as human shields and prevents them from leaving, while the IDF has been aiming to evacuate the area to be able to operate freely.

IDF Spokesman Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said Sunday evening that "more than 550,000 civilians have left Gaza City… At the same time, the 162nd, 98th, and 36th Divisions have completed their entry into Gaza City and began operating in Hamas' strongholds within the city."

"Our operations against Hamas have moved deeper into Gaza City, targeting their main stronghold. We are engaged in combat, facing terrorists both above and below ground," he said, noting that the IDF continues to identify "attempts to prevent civilians from moving south, which is in violation of international law."

Defrin said that the IDF has conducted "a wide-scale operation to warn the civilian population for their safety ... through a range of operational tools, including voice messages, leaflet drops, text messages, and phone calls," and also leads "an extensive effort to adapt humanitarian infrastructure ... expanding field hospitals, repairing and connecting water pipelines and desalination facilities, as well as a continued supply of food, tents, medicine, and medical equipment to the area."

The spokesman also commented on a report that Hamas opened fire on a U.N. team and stole its vehicles, while calling on international organizations to increase their efforts to help the civilian population.

"Armed terrorists robbed four UNICEF aid trucks at gunpoint — depriving 2,700 infants of baby formula, and Hamas continues to violently obstruct civilians from evacuating combat zones."

"At Kerem Shalom crossing, thousands of tents and supplies are waiting right now for collection by the UN and international organizations. We call on the international organizations to take this aid and deliver it directly to the Gazan people. In recent weeks alone, Israel has enabled the entry of over 24,000 tents into Gaza," he stressed.

"Hamas has shown the world its true strategy: to exploit its own people and prolong this war. That strategy will not succeed," he vowed.

In other statements, the IDF said its troops "eliminated terrorists, dismantled military infrastructure sites, and uncovered hidden explosives" over the past days of fighting in northern Gaza.

Soldiers killed "numerous terrorists who were preparing to carry out terror attacks against IDF troops," among them the brother of Dr. Mohammed Abu Salmiya, the Shifa Hospital director who was detained by Israel on suspicion of having cooperated with Hamas.

Majed Abu Salmiya "operated as a sniper for Hamas and was preparing to carry out an imminent terror attack," the IDF said.

In another operation, the military destroyed the "military building from which Hamas militants fired two rockets toward Ashdod and Lachish yesterday."

The two rockets were shot down and didn't cause injuries or harm.

In the southern part of the enclave, clearing operations continue. "In Khan Yunis and Rafah, IDF troops located an observation operations room with Hamas terrorists inside. An IAF aircraft struck and dismantled the structure, eliminating the terrorists," the military said.

Republished with permission from All Israel News.