IDF carries out surprise raid into Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, locals report tanks and airstrikes

IDF's Arabic spokesman orders residents to flee the neighborhood

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Palestinian media began to report Israeli airstrikes and the entry of IDF tanks into the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City around noon on Thursday.

The IDF has not operated in Shejaiya since April, before the ongoing operation in Rafah started.

According to Palestinian reports on social media, the IDF began to issue evacuation orders for the neighborhood earlier this morning. The first reports of strikes and bombings came in the early afternoon.

Several casualties have already been reported, and videos posted to social media have shown people fleeing the neighborhood, with sounds of intense fighting could be heard in the background.

#عاجل الى جميع السكان والنازحين المتواجدين في منطقة الشجاعية والاحياء الجديدة، التركمان والتفاح في بلوكات:
321, 607, 617, 618, 619, 622, 623, 632, 686, 720, 721, 722, 751, 730, 731, 732, 734, 735, 736, 737, 834, 887, 888, 889, 890, 891, 892, 893

من أجل سلامتكم - عليكم الاخلاء… pic.twitter.com/gf6tsdpYj1
— افيخاي ادرعي (@AvichayAdraee) June 27, 2024

At least one video showed IDF tanks in the streets of Shejaiya as people were fleeing the scene of fighting. Locals reported ongoing and intensive artillery shelling of the neighborhood, along with helicopter fire, in the neighborhood east of Gaza City.

The Sdot Negev Regional Council informed residents that Israeli forces were conducting operations in the northern Gaza Strip and, therefore, explosions and loud noises would be heard in the area.

IDF Arabic Spokesman Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee instructed the residents of Shejaiya to evacuate the neighborhood.

“To all residents and civilians in the Shejaiya area and the new neighborhoods, for your safety, you must evacuate immediately southwards towards Salah ad-Din Street to the humanitarian zone.”

Ynet News reported that IDF vehicles were advancing from several directions simultaneously, including Baghdad Street, Al-Shaf Street, and the Jabal Al-Rais area.

The military operation appears to be similar to previous operations in the Zeitoun neighborhood and Jabaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, where the IDF was forced to return due to attempts by Hamas to recapture the areas.

Meanwhile, the IDF continued its operations in Rafah on Thursday and is reportedly approaching the end of large-scale maneuvers there.

According to the IDF, around 800 terrorists have been killed in Rafah so far and at least 10 tunnels have been identified as crossing into Egyptian territory, including some from inside the city.

The IDF is reportedly creating a security corridor next to the Philadelphi border route.