Israel Palestine Conflict: Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Israeli defense forces stationed outside the Gaza Strip, as announced by his office in a statement on Saturday. During his visit, PM Netanyahu addressed the defense personnel, stating, “Are you ready for the next stage? The next stage is coming.”
This visit comes in the wake of Israel declaring a six-hour evacuation window on Saturday, from 10 am to 4 pm, allowing Gaza civilians to move to Southern Gaza. This move has sparked speculations of an impending ground attack.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that it had received an order from Israeli forces earlier on the same day, with a deadline to evacuate Al Quds hospital. Although the evacuation deadline was extended from the initial time of 6 am, the hospital couldn’t be evacuated safely, and it had to continue caring for the sick and wounded.
Palestinians in Gaza have been struggling to flee from areas targeted by the Israeli military while grappling with a growing water crisis. Israel halted the flow of resources to the region in anticipation of a land offensive, a week after Hamas launched a broad attack into Israel.
Israel has been renewing calls on social media
Israel has been renewing calls on social media and dropping leaflets from the air, urging Gaza residents to move south. However, Hamas has encouraged people to remain in their homes.
Hamas has also alleged that Israel has been targeting people fleeing towards South Gaza.
The evacuation directive covers an area with 1.1 million residents, constituting about half of the territory’s population. The Israeli military noted that “hundreds of thousands” of Palestinians have already responded to the warning and moved south.
The situation is causing the entire population of Gaza to crowd into the southern half of the territory as Israel continues its strikes across the region, including in the south.
Over 2,200 people have lost their lives in the territory
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, over 2,200 people have lost their lives in the territory, including 724 children and 458 women. On the Israeli side, more than 1,300 people were killed during the Hamas attack, the majority of whom were civilians, while approximately 1,500 Hamas militants died during the fighting, as reported by the Israeli government.
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