In view of a possible ground offensive by Israel against Hamas, the UN fears a catastrophe in the Gaza Strip. They are calling for the eviction notice for a million people to be revoked. The situation at a glance.
The Israeli military on Saturday assured residents of the northern Gaza Strip another period without attacks to move south of the sealed-off coastal enclave. In view of the threat of a ground offensive against the Islamist Hamas, there is fear and desperation among the Palestinian population in the densely populated area. Since the unprecedented massacre of Israeli civilians by terrorists exactly a week ago, the Israeli military has been carrying out massive air strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip. According to the Israeli military, one of the suspected Hamas masterminds of the bloody attacks was killed.
New period for evacuation
Residents of Beit Hanun in the north of the coastal enclave should go to Khan Yunis in the south along a predetermined escape route between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. CEST), an army spokesman said in Arabic on the X platform (formerly Twitter). . The population was informed about this in various ways – for example, leaflets were dropped the day before. Movement on the route was possible “without damage” during the specified hours. According to estimates by the United Nations, tens of thousands of people have already fled since the call to evacuate by Friday evening.
According to a spokesman, the UN fears a “catastrophic situation” if the army invades the densely populated coastal area. Eyewitnesses reported panic among the population. The UN called on Israel to revoke the order to evacuate around 1.1 million people. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for immediate access to the Gaza Strip for humanitarian aid. “Wars also have rules,” he emphasized on Friday in New York.
Person suspected of being responsible for the Hamas massacre killed
The Israeli military says it killed the head of the Hamas air surveillance system in Gaza City, Merad Abu Merad, during bomb attacks on Hamas operations centers in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said on Saturday that he was largely responsible for directing the terrorists during the massacre. Israeli warplanes attacked dozens of Hamas targets across the Gaza Strip overnight, hitting “Nukhba” terrorists who were in a staging area in the coastal enclave. The “Nukhba” terrorists were among the forces that led the incursion into Israel.
The Israeli military also said soldiers had identified a “terrorist cell” that was attempting to enter Israel from Lebanon. Several terrorists were killed.
People on the run
In the Gaza Strip, people headed south along the territory’s only main road in cars, trucks, donkey carts and on foot. Hamas, which rules there, tried to stop fleeing civilians from answering Israel’s call to evacuate the north. They said they shouldn’t fall for the “propaganda news.”
According to Hamas, Israeli airstrikes killed 70 people fleeing to the south of the Gaza Strip and injured 200 others. Most of the victims were children and women, a spokesman for the Islamist organization said on Friday. Three convoys were hit in the “massacre”. The information could not be independently verified. There was no confirmation from the Israeli military. The reports were being examined, it said.
Israeli missing people found dead
In addition to bombing attacks on Hamas targets, the Israeli military also made its first limited forays into the Gaza Strip. The soldiers discovered the bodies of missing compatriots on Friday evening, the Jerusalem Post newspaper reported. There was initially no information on the number. According to an Israeli army spokesman, the aim of these operations is to “clear the area of terrorists and weapons.” Attempts were also made to find missing people. Ground and tank troops searched for clues and “took out terrorist cells.”
According to Hamas’ military wing, 13 of the approximately 150 hostages abducted from Israel were killed in Israeli air strikes on the coastal area. The al-Qassam Brigades claimed that these included foreign nationals. This too could not be independently verified. Israel’s army said it wanted to investigate the report.
Netanyahu: just the beginning of the offensive against Hamas
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the current counterattacks in the Gaza Strip after the Hamas terror that left hundreds of Israelis dead as just the “beginning” of the offensive against the militant Islamists. “We will destroy Hamas and win, but it will take time,” he said in an address to the nation on Friday evening. “Our enemies have only just begun to pay the price. I won’t elaborate on our plans, but I’ll tell you, this is just the beginning.” The Jewish people have not experienced such horrors in decades, said Netanyahu.
Terrorists on behalf of Hamas carried out a massacre of Israeli civilians in border towns and at a music festival on Saturday last week – the worst since the founding of Israel. More than 1,300 people died. More than 3,000 injuries were also reported. The Ministry of Health there said on Friday evening that the number of Palestinians killed in the Israeli counterattacks in the Gaza Strip was at least 1,900. These include 614 children and young people. At least 7,696 people were injured.
Criticism of Israel’s evacuation call
Saudi Arabia and Egypt criticized the Israeli military’s call for a mass evacuation of the northern Gaza Strip. Saudi Arabia rejects “forced relocation,” the Foreign Ministry said on Friday. All forms of military escalation directed against civilians must be stopped. Egypt’s Foreign Ministry condemned the order to evacuate Gazans as a “serious violation of the rules of international humanitarian law.”
Biden is concerned about the humanitarian situation
US President Joe Biden once again assured Israel of the solidarity of the United States, but also expressed concern about the situation in the Gaza Strip. “We must not lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians have nothing to do with Hamas or Hamas’s disgusting attacks, and that they are suffering as a result,” Biden said Friday.