Israel Warns Residents of Gaza to Leave Within Next 24 Hours
Israel is telling residents in North Gaza – about 1.1 million people – to relocate to the South of the strip in the next 24 hours according to the United Nations (UN).
Israel’s military has directly told Gaza city residents to leave for their “safety and protection”, as its forces mass ahead of an expected ground offensive.
But a Hamas official has described Israel’s order for people in the North of Gaza to relocate to the South as “fake propaganda”, and has urged citizens there to ignore it.
The UN has called on Israel to withdraw the order, arguing its “impossible” for Palestinians to fully comply and warning of “devastating humanitarian consequences”.
Hamas kidnapped at least 150 people and took them into Gaza during deadly attacks on Israel at the weekend that killed 1,300 people.
More than 1,400 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched retaliatory air strikes, Palestinian health officials say.
This was the deadliest attack on the country since it was founded 75 years ago. European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen will visit Israel today to express solidarity with the victims of Hamas attacks.
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The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, arrived in the country yesterday to extend American support and help mitigate the situation.
He met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv and President Isaac Herzog on Thursday. Reportedly, Blinken will also meet Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas.
In the meantime, Prime Minister Netanyahu formed a new war management cabinet consisting of Prime Minister himself, the Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and a senior Opposition lawmaker and former Defence Minister Benny Gantz to Bolstar public trust and to infuse country’s war time leadership with greater military experience.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken arrived in Jordan today. He is scheduled to meet Jordan’s King Abdullah as well as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the capital, Amman.
Blinken is on an extensive tour of West Asia, which began on Thursday with his arrival in Israel.
Earlier, Blinken met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv and President Isaac Herzog to extend America’s unwavering support to the country.
After Jordan, Blinken is expected to visit Qatar, which has longstanding ties with Hamas.
The US Defence Secretary, Lloyd Austin, has also just arrived in Israel for talks with his Israeli counterpart.
