“If you care about yourself and your loved ones, go south according to our instructions,” announced one of the IDF’s spokespersons, Avichay Adraee in Arabic on the X social media platform.
The journey south should take place between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Sunday on the road opened by the IDF.
The IDF also called on those in northern Gaza on Saturday to head south for three hours, when the military opened the road. The IDF claims that Hamas then attacked Israeli military who opened the road and that Hamas thereby showed that it wants to stop Palestinians from northern Gaza from leaving.
Has surrounded
Battles and bombings are in full swing in northern Gaza, the destruction is great and the casualties many. The IDF has surrounded Gaza City in the offensive to end Hamas, in response to the terrorist attack on Israel that started the war almost a month ago, on October 7.
“Everyone in Gaza City is risking their lives,” Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant explained the situation to those who remain there on Saturday.
US attempts to secure one or more humanitarian pauses have not been successful. However, the US is not seeking a cease-fire or ceasefire, as the Americans believe that a longer such pause would benefit Hamas.
According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, over 9,400 Palestinians have lost their lives since the start of the war. Israel says around 1,400 Israelis, the vast majority of them civilians, were killed in massacres and attacks surrounding the October 7 attack. Around 240 people are estimated to have been taken hostage by Hamas during the attack.
Forced away
The UN’s humanitarian coordination agency OCHA states that around 1.5 million of the Gaza Strip’s more than two million inhabitants have been forced to leave their homes and become internally displaced persons in Gaza, the BBC reports.
Over 700,000 of them have sought shelter in premises and facilities run by the UN agency Unrwa. Over half a million of these are in the southern part of Gaza, where Israel has urged residents of northern Gaza to go.
About 160,000 people are in Unrwa premises in Gaza City and in other parts of northern Gaza where Unrwa can no longer assist them.