The Israeli military has declared Gaza City “a dangerous combat zone”, as it prepared to conquer the Palestinian territory’s largest city after almost two years of conflict, AFP reports.

“Starting today, at 10:00 (12:00pm PKT), the local tactical pause in military activity will not apply to the area of Gaza City, which constitutes a dangerous combat zone,” the military said in a statement, referring to daily pauses in certain areas aimed at facilitating aid distribution.

The military did not call for the population to evacuate immediately, but the army’s Arabic-language spokesman, Avichay Adraee, said earlier this week that the city’s evacuation was “inevitable”.