The Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip continue, including airstrikes. Several rockets have been fired at Israel from Gaza.
Israel’s military, the IDF, has urged the 1.1 million people living in northern Gaza to flee to the southern parts. The announcement has worried both the UN and the World Health Organization WHO, who warn that such a large evacuation will have serious consequences.
Many experts see the call as a sign of an imminent ground offensive.
Over a million are told to flee
After the terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel on Saturday, a large number of Israeli soldiers gathered at the border with Gaza.
During Friday, one of the IDF’s spokespersons, Avichay Adraee, stated that the people in northern Gaza have until eight o’clock in the evening local time to leave (seven o’clock Swedish time).
“The IDF will refrain from touching the route marked on the map until 8:00 p.m.,” he writes in a post on X that also includes a picture of a route that Gazans are proposed to use.
“If you are worried about yourself and your loved ones, head south according to our instructions,” he writes.
IDF on the raids: “Clean the area”
During Friday, the IDF also stated that several raids in Gaza have already been carried out by Israeli soldiers, writes AFP.
“Over the past 24 hours, IDF forces have conducted local raids within the Gaza Strip to complete efforts to clear the area of terrorists and weapons,” the military wrote in a statement.
During the raids, the soldiers are said to have also tried to locate captured Israelis. It is not clear how many were killed in the raids or whether they succeeded in locating people held hostage by Hamas.
Terese Cristiansson, TV4 Nyhetern’s Middle East correspondent who is in Israel to cover the war, comments on the information.
– It must be about the fact that you have entered with a smaller group. Among other things, to try to search for some of the hostages that were taken last Saturday, she says.