Israel calls for all civilians to leave Gaza City. In preparation for an anticipated ground assault, Israel’s military ordered all inhabitants in Gaza City—more than 1 million people—to leave their homes in the north within the next 24 hours.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared on Thursday that it was time for war as Israeli airplanes kept bombing Gaza in reprisal for the worst assault by Palestinian terrorists in the territory’s history. According to the Israeli military, it will conduct “significant” operations in Gaza City over the next several days, and residents won’t be allowed to leave until further notice.
According to the United Nations, such a migration cannot occur “without catastrophic humanitarian repercussions.”
U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, “The United Nations strongly appeals for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded to avoid what could turn what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation.” The U.N.’s reaction to Israel’s early warning to the people of Gaza was called “shameful” by Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Gilad Erdan. Officials from Hamas warned people not to believe the “fake propaganda” warning about the Gaza border.
Israel has pledged to destroy the Hamas militant organization that organized the assaults on Saturday. However, a ground invasion of Gaza would be risky given that Hamas still holds many captives during the attack. Israel’s public channel, Kan, reported that more than 1,300 people have died there. According to Gaza’s officials, more than 1,500 Palestinians were murdered.
Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza, home to 2.3 million people.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) cautioned that food and fresh water supplies were dangerously low; simultaneously, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned that fuel for emergency generators at Gazan hospitals might run out in hours.
The ICRC regional director Fabrizio Carboni said, “The human misery caused by this escalation is abhorrent, and I implore the sides to lessen the suffering of civilians.”
A “RIDDLE WITH BULLETS”
Israel’s government presented gruesome photographs of children and bystanders it said Hamas had murdered in an Israeli assault over the weekend to NATO defense ministers and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to garner support for its reaction.
They showed a newborn “riddled with bullets,” troops being decapitated, and teenagers being torched in their automobiles, according to Blinken. “It’s simply depravity in the worst imaginable way,” he stated. “It’s really beyond anything that we can comprehend.”
Blinken encouraged Israel to exercise moderation, echoing calls from people worldwide, but he also reaffirmed American support, adding, “We will always be there by your side.”
As part of a Middle East journey intended to curb the war’s spillover, he was scheduled to meet with King Abdullah of Jordan and Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on Friday. Additionally, Blinken had plans to go to important U.S. allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, some of which have sway over Hamas, an Islamist organization supported by Iran.
Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, head of Israel’s military, claimed that Israel would learn from the security lapses in the Gaza area that allowed the strike. “We will learn and investigate, but now is the time for war,” he stated. According to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Washington has no requirements for its security support to Israel. It expects Israel’s forces to “do the right things” to resolve its conflict with Hamas.
Austin was scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu while in Israel on Friday. Hamas urged Palestinians to protest Israel’s assault on the enclave on Friday by marching to the Al-Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem and engaging in combat with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli parliament confirmed Netanyahu’s emergency unity cabinet late Thursday to demonstrate the nation’s unified will to combat Hamas. This coalition included several legislators from the centrist opposition.
Human Rights Watch charged Israel on Thursday with employing white phosphorus munitions in its military operations in Lebanon and Gaza, claiming that doing so puts people at risk of suffering catastrophic and life-altering injuries.
The Israeli military said it was “at this time not aware” of the use of white phosphorus-containing munitions in Gaza.
Asserting that the accusation made in certain media reports was an attempt by Washington to shift responsibility for the crisis from itself to a third nation, North Korea denied on Friday that Hamas utilized its weapons in the strike against Israel.
SECURITY MEASURES ARE DEMANDED BY SAFETY CONCERNS
Starting on Friday, the U.S. State Department will provide charter flights to Europe to assist Americans who choose to depart Israel.
According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno, Japan has scheduled a charter flight to leave Tel Aviv on Saturday for Japanese residents who want to leave Israel. The crisis sparked some European disturbance; in Paris, police dispersed a prohibited gathering in favor of the Palestinians by deploying water cannons and tear gas. There were plans to temporarily close a few Jewish schools in Amsterdam and London owing to security issues.
Although some officials attempted to downplay the danger, U.S. law enforcement officials in New York and Los Angeles claimed they had increased police presence on Friday, particularly around synagogues and Jewish community centers.
An Arab advocacy organization, the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, said on Thursday that FBI agents had visited mosques in several states and individuals of Palestinian ancestry in the United States, calling it a “troubling trend.”On Thursday, a sizable group of Israelis gathered in Jerusalem at the Mount Herzl military cemetery to bury their dead.
“I knew you were battling hard when you didn’t answer my phone. I had no idea how it would end when I found out you were missing,” a mourner remarked.
The Samour family, slain on Wednesday night in a strike that damaged their home, were buried in vacant areas in Khan Younis, Gaza’s main southern city, where cemeteries were already filled. As his team attempted to rescue people from Israeli airstrike-damaged homes, Palestinian rescuer Ibrahim Hamdan drove between bomb sites.
Hamdan, who has endured many battles since becoming a rescuer in 2007, stated, “This war is harsh beyond comprehension.” “They knock down high-rise buildings on top of their residents.”
Since Hamas took control of Gaza 16 years ago, its residents—mostly relatives of refugees who left or were evicted from their homes in Israel upon its founding—have endured economic collapse, continuous Israeli bombing, and a siege.
Due to Israel’s recent deadly crackdown in the West Bank and promises of annexing additional land by its right-wing administration, Palestinian rage has increased. Palestinian authorities claim that the collapse of a peace effort intended to establish a Palestinian state a decade ago left the populace without hope and strengthened radicals.
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