The Israeli military on Friday called on all of Gaza City’s more than 1 million civilians to move south within 24 hours, as it assembled tanks near the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected ground invasion.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday that Israeli warplanes continue to strike the Gaza Strip in retaliation for weekend attacks by Hamas militants that killed more than 1,300 Israelis, mostly civilians. , said, “Now is the time for war.”
The Israeli military said it would carry out a “major” operation in Gaza City in the coming days and that civilians could only return if announced otherwise.
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“Civilians of Gaza City, please evacuate south for the safety of yourself and your families and distance yourself from the Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields,” the military said in a statement.
“Hamas terrorists are hiding in tunnels beneath houses in Gaza City and in buildings occupied by innocent Gaza civilians.”
Hamas officials called the Gaza relocation warning “false propaganda” and urged people not to be fooled.
The United Nations said it considered it impossible for such displacement to occur “without catastrophic humanitarian consequences.”
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan called the UN’s response to Israel’s early warning to Gaza residents “shameful.”
Israel has vowed to eliminate Hamas, the militant group that led Saturday’s attack.
The Israeli military said in a statement Friday that it attacked 750 military targets in northern Gaza overnight, including Hamas tunnels, military facilities, the residences of senior operatives and weapons storage warehouses.
However, a ground invasion of Gaza poses serious risks as Hamas has a large number of hostages abducted in the raid.
The Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million people, has been besieged by Israel, which has shelled Hamas targets in the enclave and killed more than 1,500 Palestinians in retaliatory strikes since the weekend’s invasion.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said emergency generators at hospitals in the Gaza Strip could run out of fuel within hours, and the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said it was running dangerously low on food and fresh water. I warned you that you were doing it.
“The human misery caused by this escalation is abhorrent and we implore both sides to alleviate the suffering of civilians,” said ICRC Regional Director Fabrizio Carboni.
The United Nations Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA) announced that it has relocated its central operations center and international staff to southern Gaza.
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