JERUSALEM/NEW YORK/TEL AVIV:
Countries urged Israel on Friday to postpone plans for an all-out assault on northern Gaza, where more than a million civilians have largely defied evacuation orders, before going after Hamas operatives who attacked Israelis a week ago slaughtered.
Hamas, which controls the densely populated Palestinian area, vowed to fight to the last drop of blood and told residents to stay put after Israel told them to move south within 24 hours.
While some heeded the call to leave, there was little sign of a mass exodus Friday afternoon.
“Dying is better than leaving,” said 20-year-old Mohammad, standing in the street in front of a building that was left in ruins during an Israeli airstrike near central Gaza two days ago.
“I was born here and I will die here. Leaving is a stigma.”
With power cut and food and water supplies in short supply in the Palestinian enclave after a week of retaliatory airstrikes and a full Israeli blockade, the UN says Gaza’s citizens are in an impossible situation.
“The noose around the civilian population in Gaza is tightening. How are 1.1 million people supposed to move through a densely populated war zone in less than 24 hours?” UN aid chief Martin Griffiths wrote this on social media.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said such a massive evacuation was a “tall task” but that Washington would not second-guess its ally’s decision to tell citizens to get out of the way .
“We understand what they are trying to do and why they are trying to do this – to try to isolate the civilian population from Hamas, which is their real target,” he said on MSNBC.
The northern half of the Gaza Strip includes the enclave’s largest settlement, Gaza City. The UN said it had been told that Israel wanted the entire population to pass through the wetlands that bisect the enclave.
“Citizens 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 a human shield,” the Israeli army said, accusing Hamas of moving in and under to hide civilian buildings.
Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, a rival of Hamas, told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jordan that the forced displacement of Palestinians in Gaza would be a repeat of 1948, when hundreds of thousands of Palestinians fled or were expelled from Gaza. what is Israel now. Most Gazans are the descendants of such refugees.
Abbas called for immediate aid to enter Gaza. Israel has said it will not lift the blockade until dozens of hostages captured by Hamas are released.
Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed creating safe zones in Gaza “where civilians can move to be safe from Israel’s legitimate security operations,” a US State Department official told reporters.
‘I promise you we will win’
Israel has already responded with the most intensive airstrikes of its 75-year conflict with the Palestinians. Authorities in Gaza say 1,799 people have been killed.
The Israeli military has not yet made clear what type of operation it plans, but has promised “significant” operations in the coming days.
“We are fighting for our home. We are fighting for our future,” Defense Secretary Yoav Gallant said. “The path will be long, but in the end I promise you we will win.”
Israel says the horrific attack on its citizens means it must destroy the group and get others out of the way. Hamas tunnels, military complexes, senior operatives’ homes and weapons caches were among the 750 military targets hit overnight, the report said.
Hamas’ military wing said the latest airstrikes had killed 13 of the prisoners they brought from Israel and fired 150 rockets into Israel in response.
The United Nations said Israel’s call for Gaza citizens to leave could not happen “without devastating humanitarian consequences,” prompting a rebuke from Israel that it should condemn Hamas and support Israel’s right to self-defense.
A ground invasion of the narrow and densely populated Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million people, poses a serious risk, with Hamas threatening to kill its hostages.
Hours after Israel’s evacuation call, there were few signs of people leaving Gaza City, where dozens of people gathered at al-Shifa hospital and vowed to stay there.
Palestinians in the southern and central parts of the enclave, where people were expected to flee, said airstrikes had taken place there overnight, while the central parts were also hit on Friday morning. “No place is safe in the entire Gaza Strip,” the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
The UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) said more than 400,000 people have been left homeless in Gaza and 23 aid workers have been killed. “Mass displacement continues,” the report said.
The UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said it had moved its central operations center and international staff to southern Gaza and urged Israel to spare its shelters.
‘THEY ARE TOO VICTIMS’
White House national security spokesman Kirby said U.S. officials were working with Israel and Egypt, which also has a border with Gaza, on safe passage for civilians there.
“It’s clear we don’t want any civilians to get hurt,” he said on CNN. “These Palestinian people are also victims. They didn’t ask for this. They didn’t invite Hamas and say, ‘Go attack Israel.'”
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a trip to Tel Aviv that military aid was pouring into Israel, but this was the time for determination and not revenge.
On Friday, Blinken met with both Jordan’s King Abdullah and Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank but lost control of Gaza to Hamas in 2007. Blinken will also visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other countries. the United Arab Emirates – some with influence over Hamas.
Iran warned of a response from its allies, including Hamas and Lebanon’s powerful Hezbollah movement. The Israeli army said armed men infiltrated across the Lebanese border.
Iran’s foreign minister met Hezbollah chief Hassan Nassrallah in Lebanon.
“The continuation of war crimes against Palestine and Gaza will receive a response from the rest of the axis,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said.
Jews in other countries spoke of fear of attacks. In Paris, police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse a banned rally in support of Palestinians. Some Jewish schools in Amsterdam and London would temporarily close due to safety concerns. Police in New York and Los Angeles have increased their presence around synagogues and Jewish community centers.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
