Gaza City, home to over a million residents, received a sobering 24-hour warning from the Israeli military on Friday, influencing them to leave southward as Israeli tanks combined near the Gaza Strip. This alarming development has raised concerns of an impending ground offensive.
Israeli warplanes continued their airstrikes on Gaza, while Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared, “Now is a time for war.”
The Israeli military has underscored the likelihood of significant operations in Gaza City in the coming days, with residents permitted to return only after a formal announcement.
The United Nations played a crucial role in conveying the Israeli military’s warning, and many Palestinians fear that this could signal the start of an Israeli ground attack.
As of the report, the Israeli military had not immediately commented on the warning, but they had deployed tanks near the Gaza border and launched airstrikes in response to Hamas’s efforts to end the decades-long Israeli occupation.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric has expressed concerns about the dire humanitarian consequences of such a move and called for the rescission of any confirmed order to prevent an already tragic situation from deteriorating further. This appeal is extended to all UN staff and those seeking refuge in UN facilities, including schools, health centers, and clinics.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, appeared to confirm the warning, criticizing the UN’s response as “shameful” and calling for a focus on condemning Hamas and supporting Israel’s right to self-defense.
Salama Marouf, head of the Hamas government media office, regarded the relocation warning as a strategy to spread false propaganda and disrupt internal cohesion among citizens. He urged residents not to be swayed by such attempts.
The authorities in Gaza have reported over 1,500 Palestinian casualties, including hundreds of children, due to Israeli bombings. The Palestinian Red Crescent supposed that four medics were deliberately targeted by Israeli forces.
Gaza, with a population of 2.3 million people, remains under siege, with Israeli airstrikes causing extensive damage to entire neighborhoods.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that fuel for emergency generators at Gaza hospitals could run out within hours. The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) highlighted dangerously low food and fresh water supplies.
ICRC regional director Fabrizio Carboni decried the human suffering resulting from the escalation and urged both sides to minimize civilian distress in the midst of this intensifying conflict.
