Israel has rejected exit requests from several senior Hamas officials and their families seeking to leave the Gaza Strip, according to a statement from Israel's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) released on September 14th, 2025. This development occurs as Hamas encourages Gaza City residents to remain, despite the Israel Defense Forces' (IDF) preparations for an offensive. COGAT chief Maj. Gen. Ghassan Alian stated via Facebook that Hamas officials have submitted requests for their family members, and sometimes themselves, to depart the Gaza Strip through an Israeli mechanism, while concurrently urging Palestinians not to evacuate Gaza City. Alian highlighted the hypocrisy of Hamas operatives seeking to flee while using residents as human shields. "While the Hamas terrorist organization calls on you, the residents of Gaza City, not to move south, its operatives fear for their own lives and are seeking to leave the Gaza Strip," Alian said. Among those whose requests were reportedly denied are Muhammad Madhoun, a minister in the Hamas government, and the families of Isma'il al-Ashqar, head of Hamas's Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, and Alaa a-Din Bata, head of a Hamas government committee. COGAT also confirmed that Gaza City Council member Anwar Atallah left the Gaza Strip two weeks ago with his family to an unnamed country via Jordan, with the approval of the defense establishment. In a separate incident reported shortly before this update, Israeli forces opened fire at individuals described as suspicious Arabs who entered the Tulkam terrorist camp contrary to guidelines, resulting in one serious injury. This occurred on September 14th, 2025.
