The Israeli military reported yesterday that approximately 600,000 residents remain in Gaza City, following an estimated 350,000 departures from the area since early September. The military stated it has expanded operations in Gaza City, bombarding infrastructure identified as belonging to Hamas. Displaced Palestinians, including Toufic Abu Mouawad and Osama Awad, described intense shelling and airstrikes. Mr. Mouawad called on Arab countries and 'people who have a good conscience' to support them. Satellite imagery from September 18, reviewed by Reuters, indicated new tents south of Gaza City after September 5 and observed crowds and vehicles on key roads. The Israeli military had previously instructed Palestinians to use the Salah al-Din road to move south. Gaza health authorities reported 33 Palestinians killed in the last 24 hours and a total of more than 65,000 Palestinians killed in nearly two years of fighting. The Israeli military claimed an airstrike killed Mahmoud Yusuf Abu Alkhir, identified as deputy head of military intelligence in Hamas's Bureij Battalion, stating he participated in 'terrorist attacks against Israeli troops and the state.' Hamas initiated the war on October 7, 2023, by attacking Israel, resulting in 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages taken to Gaza, according to Israeli figures. Families of the estimated 20 surviving hostages have urged Israeli leadership to negotiate a ceasefire. On the Israeli side of the border, dozens of protestors called for an end to the war, with slogans including 'Stop the genocide in Gaza' and 'Free Gaza, isolate Israel.' The armed wing of Hamas declared that its distribution of hostages across Gaza City means that 'criminal operation and its expansion means you will not receive any captive, alive or dead.' Israel's Defense Minister, Israel Katz, stated that if Hamas does not release hostages and disarm, 'Gaza will be destroyed and turned into a monument to the rapists and murderers of Hamas.' Israel asserts the extent of hunger in Gaza is exaggerated and that Hamas could end the war by surrendering, freeing hostages, disarming, and disbanding. Hamas states it will not disarm until a Palestinian state is established. Multiple mediation efforts have reportedly failed.