ISRAEL/ GAZA: On Saturday, the Israeli military said it had seen “substantial movement” to the south of Palestinian civilian areas, a day after urging residents of Gaza City to evacuate as Israel’s prime minister pledged more retaliation for Hamas’s last-week attack.
U.S. President Joe Biden stated that discussions were ongoing with neighbouring governments concerning the humanitarian emergency in Gaza, as trapped Palestinians were facing challenges such as a power outage and scarcity of essential supplies like food and water due to intense Israeli airstrikes.
Israel has pledged to take decisive action against Hamas in response to an attack that occurred a week ago, resulting in the loss of approximately 1,300 lives, primarily civilians, and the capture of numerous hostages.
Since then, Israel has completely besieged the Gaza Strip, which is under the control of Hamas and is home to 2.3 million Palestinians, and launched heavy airstrikes against it. Gaza authorities have reported around 1,900 casualties.
On Friday, over one million residents in northern Gaza were issued a 24-hour evacuation notice from Israel, with the deadline passing at 5 a.m. (0200 GMT).
“We have seen a significant movement of Palestinian civilians towards the south,” Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus stated during an early-morning video briefing on Saturday. He declined questions and made no mention of the deadline.
“Around the Gaza Strip, Israeli reserve soldiers in formation (are) getting ready for the next stage of operations. They are all around the Gaza Strip, in the south, in the centre and in the north, and they are preparing themselves for whatever target they get, whatever task,” he added.
“The end state of this war is that we will dismantle Hamas and its military capability and fundamentally change the situation so that Hamas never again has the ability to inflict any damage on Israeli civilians or soldiers,” he further added.
Hamas urged the locals to stay and pledged to fight to the last drop of blood.
On Friday, an Israeli military spokesperson confirmed that tank-supported forces had conducted operations to target Palestinian rocket teams and gather intelligence about hostage locations, marking the first official acknowledgment of ground troops’ presence in Gaza since the crisis commenced.
In a rare televised statement following the commencement of the Jewish Sabbath on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, “We are striking our enemies with unprecedented might. I emphasise that this is only the beginning.”
As per the United Nations, tens of thousands of Palestinians from northern Gaza had relocated south following the Israeli directive. The UN also reported that over 400,000 Palestinians had already been displaced internally due to the ongoing hostilities before the directive.
Some, though, declared they would stay. Outside a building damaged by an Israeli airstrike close to Gaza City, 20-year-old Mohammed declared, “Death is better than leaving.”
Mosques relayed a message: “Hold on to your homes. Hold on to your land.”
The United Nations and other groups warned that if so many people were forced to evacuate, a calamity would occur and that the siege should be lifted to allow relief to enter.
“We need immediate humanitarian access throughout Gaza so that we can get fuel, food, and water to everyone in need. Even wars have rules,” said U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Friday.
Speaking at a shipping terminal in Philadelphia, Biden stated that resolving the humanitarian catastrophe was his top concern. According to him, American personnel were collaborating with the U.N., Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab nations in the area.
“The overwhelming majority of Palestinians had nothing to do with Hamas and Hamas’ appalling attacks. And they’re suffering as a result as well,” Biden said.
U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated that Gazans could not follow Israel’s directive to go south without suffering “devastating humanitarian consequences,” triggering Israel to rebuke that the U.N. should denounce Hamas and back Israel’s right to self-defence.
Martin Griffiths, the head of U.N. aid, posted on social media that “the noose around the civilian population in Gaza is tightening. How are 1.1 million people supposed to move across a densely populated war zone in less than 24 hours?”
Mahmoud Abbas, the President of the Palestinian Authority, who is in opposition to Hamas, conveyed to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken during their meeting in Jordan that the forced displacement would evoke memories of 1948, a period when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians either fled or were expelled from what is now Israel. Many residents of Gaza are descendants of those refugees.
Gaza is currently one of the most densely populated areas globally, and right now, there is no way out of Gaza. Apart from Israel’s blockade, Egypt has been reluctant to open its border with Gaza.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday. Austin mentioned that military assistance was being provided to Israel, emphasising the need for determination rather than seeking revenge.
“The path will be long, but ultimately I promise you we will win,” stated Gallant.
On Friday, Blinken held meetings with King Abdullah in Jordan and also met with Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority, which holds limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, lost control of Gaza to Hamas in 2007. Later, Blinken travelled to Qatar, an ally of the U.S. with influence over various Islamist groups.
In the West Bank, protesters supporting Gaza engaged in armed confrontations with Israeli security forces, resulting in Palestinian officials reporting 16 casualties from gunfire.
Concerns have arisen about the potential for the conflict to escalate, extending to Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where conflicts this week have been the deadliest since 2006.
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