Israel’s military spokesperson claims Hamas has lost control in northern Gaza

Hamas has lost control of northern Gaza as thousands of residents have moved south, Israel’s military spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari claimed in a televised briefing on Wednesday.

“We saw 50,000 Gazans move from the northern Gaza Strip to the south. They are moving because they understand that Hamas has lost control in the north,” Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said. “Hamas has lost control and is continuing to lose control in the north.”

Hagari added that there would be no ceasefire but Israel has been allowing for humanitarian pauses at specific times to allow for residents to relocate south.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday there will be no fuel delivered to Gaza and no ceasefire with Hamas unless hostages seized by the Palestinian militants are freed.

The Israel-Hamas war started on October 7 when fighters from the militia group burst out of the Gaza Strip and into southern Israel.

According to Israel, Hamas militants killed some 1,400 people — mostly civilians — and seized more than 240 hostages, in the worst attack on the nation since its founding in 1948.

In response Israel has launched a withering assault on Gaza in the Palestinian enclave it rules, home to some 2.4 million people.

The Palestinian health ministry says more than 10,300 people — also mostly civilians — have been killed by Israel’s offensive.

There have been increasing international calls for a ceasefire or “pause” in fighting as the conflict enters its second month.

But Netanyahu said there would be “no entry of gasoline… no ceasefire without the release of our hostages”.

He says the Israel’s military was encircling Gaza City and operating inside it as it pressed on with a month-long offensive against Hamas.