The Israeli army warned on Friday that it will use "unprecedented force" in Gaza City, and urged the residents there to flee south.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army announced the closure of a key evacuation route for Palestinians to leave Gaza City, which was available for 48 hours from Wednesday noon, as Israeli tanks were advancing along two main roads towards the city center.
The western Gaza Strip is now densely packed with displaced civilians. These areas include Al-Shifa Hospital and the Port of Gaza, which has become a makeshift shelter filled with tents.
"I am evacuating from Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza to Deir al-Balah on foot, as you can see I'm using a small cart. I left because the tanks advanced very close, and I'm terrified of death," said Ahmad Abu Toha, a displaced man.
"Right now, I'm moving from one place to another. We just fled from Sheikh Radwan to Al-Shifa Hospital. The situation is very bad. We hear the sounds of tanks and helicopters. There is no safe place in all of Gaza because they want to expel all the residents of the Strip. Even if we move south, in the end they will displace everyone," said Abdel Karim Eid, another displaced man.
Israel warns of using "unprecedented force" in Gaza, urges residents to leave
A wildfire that engulfed part of a forest in Shantou City of south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday has been extinguished after 17 hours of concerted efforts by multiple departments including emergency response, firefighting and public security units.
Villagers living at the foot of Xianglu Mountain were the first to notice the fire erupting on its slopes.
"It looked far away and I thought it was just someone burning garbage," recalled one villager.
Upon discovering the fire, local authorities immediately organized personnel to combat the flames, with mobilization of over 200 rescuers from surrounding areas to assist in the firefighting efforts.
"We were divided into two to three groups, with one conducting regular firefighting and another using water pumps to extinguish the fire," said one rescuer.
Given the rapid spread of the fire, local officials also called in aerial support with helicopters to aid in extinguishing the blaze. Furthermore, many personnel organized by local grassroots departments were actively involved in the firefighting efforts.
By 06:00 on Monday, the wildfire was finally extinguished without causing any casualties. The dry climate in winter increases the risk of forest fire in the region. However, the cause of the forest fire is still under investigation.
Wildfire extinguished in south China's Guangdong after 17 hours of efforts
