In a catastrophic onslaught by the Islamist group Hamas on Friday, Israel’s military ordered all inhabitants in Gaza City, more than 1 million people, to flee south within 24 hours as it gathered tanks in preparation for an anticipated ground invasion.
“Now is a time for war,” Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told the media on Thursday as Israeli warplanes continued pounding Gaza in retaliation for the weekend attacks by Hamas militants that killed more than 1,300 Israelis, mostly civilians.
In the coming days, the Israeli military will conduct “significant” operations in Gaza City, according to the IDF, so residents should only return as directed. In reprisal attacks, at least 1,500 Palestinians have already died.
“Civilians of Gaza City, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families and distance yourself from Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields,” the military said.
“Hamas terrorists are hiding in Gaza City inside tunnels underneath houses and inside buildings populated with innocent Gazan civilians.”
Officials from Hamas warned people not to believe what they described as “fake propaganda.” Later, its military branch claimed that the most recent Israeli airstrikes had claimed the lives of 13 of the numerous prisoners it had taken prisoner from Israel.
The Palestinian envoy to Japan accused the Israelis of trying to completely destroy Gaza, while the UN claimed that such a movement of people could not happen “without devastating humanitarian consequences.”
The way the UN handled Israel’s early warning to the Gazans was described as “shameful” by Israel’s envoy there, Gilad Erdan.
Israel claims to have hit 750 military targets overnight, including Hamas tunnels, military camps, senior operatives’ homes, and weapons storage warehouses. Israel has threatened to completely destroy the Hamas militant group, which was responsible for the attacks on Saturday.
The 2.3 million-person Gaza Strip is small and heavily populated, making a ground assault extremely dangerous because Hamas has threatened to execute its hostages.
Numerous individuals gathered at the al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and pledged to remain there hours after Israel issued an evacuation order.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrations were anticipated all around the world, and American and regional leaders scheduled talks out of concern that the violence would spread.
Over 400,000 Palestinians had fled their homes in Gaza, according to the U.N. humanitarian agency (OCHA), and 23 relief workers had been murdered.
The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) cautioned that food and fresh water supplies were getting dangerously low while the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned that Gaza’s hospitals’ generators could run out of gasoline in a matter of hours.
“The human misery caused by this escalation is abhorrent, and I implore the sides to reduce the suffering of civilians,” ICRC regional director Fabrizio Carboni said.
