MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) reiterated its call to civilian residents of Gaza City to evacuate to the south of the Gaza Strip in a statement, posted on IDF’s official Telegram channel on Friday.

"The IDF calls for the evacuation of all civilians of Gaza City from their homes southwards for their own safety and protection," the statement reads.

"You will be able to return to Gaza City only when another announcement permitting it is made," the IDF said.

The Israeli army claimed that HAMAS militants are hiding in tunnels below residential buildings.

"Hamas terrorists are hiding in Gaza City inside tunnels underneath houses and inside buildings populated with innocent Gazan civilians," the statement says.

Tensions in the Middle East flared up again after Hamas militants infiltrated Israel from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian movement described its attack as a response to the actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount. Israel declared a state of readiness for war, announced a total blockade of Gaza and started carrying out strikes on the Palestinian enclave, as well as on certain areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank. Over 1,500 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,200 have suffered wounds; in Israel, the death toll stands at about 1,500 and almost 4,000 people have been wounded.