by Henriette Chacar, Nidal al-Mughrabi and Humeyra Pamuk
JERUSALEM/GAZA/TEL AVIV (Reuters) – It is now “war time”, Israel’s army chief said, as the IDF continued to deploy tanks near the Gaza strip on Thursday. Gaza in preparation for a massive ground operation to “eradicate” Hamas, which controls the densely populated Palestinian enclave.
The Israeli army on Friday morning asked residents of Gaza City, located in the north of the enclave, to evacuate to the south of the territory, indicating that it would continue to “operate significantly” in the area, suggesting the imminence of a military intervention on the ground.
The IDF also warned Gazans not to approach the border fence with Israel, letting residents know that they will be able to return to Gaza City “only” after another announcement to this effect.
The United Nations said earlier it had been informed by the Israeli army that around 1.1 million Palestinians residing in the northern Gaza Strip were expected to move south of the enclave within 24 hours. A UN spokesperson said that it considers this impossible “without devastating humanitarian consequences”.
Wanting to rally support, the Israeli government showed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who arrived Thursday for talks in the region, and NATO defense ministers very graphic images of children and civilians killed by Hamas during weekend attacks in Israeli towns near Gaza.
“This is simply depravity in its most unimaginable form,” said Antony Blinken, saying he saw images of a baby “riddled with bullets”, decapitated soldiers and young people set on fire in their vehicles. “This really goes beyond anything understandable,” he added.
Israel has promised “terrible revenge” for last weekend’s attack, the bloodiest by Palestinian fighters in Israeli history.
According to Kan public television, the latest death toll from the attack stands at more than 1,300. Dozens of Israelis and foreign nationals have been kidnapped by Hamas and are being held hostage in Gaza; Israeli authorities said they had identified 97 of these hostages.
The Israeli army has since carried out airstrikes of unprecedented intensity against Gaza, where 2.3 million people live, destroying entire neighborhoods. The enclave was placed under siege and “total” blockade.
According to Gaza authorities, more than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began its retaliatory strikes.
BLINKEN TO INCREASE INTERVIEWS IN THE REGION
Echoing other representatives around the world, Antony Blinken called on the Jewish state to exercise restraint, while reaffirming the support of the United States. “We will always be here by your side,” he said.
The American Secretary of State will continue his travels in the region in order to avoid an escalation of the conflict. He is due to meet King Abdullah and the head of the Palestinian Authority, based in the West Bank, Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan on Friday. He also plans to travel to Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, countries where some are able to contact Hamas.
Iran, support of the Palestinian group, has warned via its Minister of Foreign Affairs that additional crimes against the Palestinians will give rise to a response from the “rest of the axis”, implying the axis of resistance formed by Tehran, Palestinian armed factions, Syria, the Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah and other groups.
Hossein Amirabdollahian added that Israel and its allies would be responsible for the consequences, denouncing the displacement of Palestinians and the water and electricity cuts in the Gaza Strip as “war crimes”.
Tehran, which welcomed the Hamas attack in Israel, denies any direct involvement.
Israeli army chief General Herzi Halevi said lessons from the security failures that enabled the attack from Gaza would be learned in due time. “We will learn, we will investigate, but now it is time for war,” he said.
Washington has been providing additional security aid to Israel since Saturday, notably by sending munitions, and has brought an aircraft carrier closer to the country. Other Western countries, such as Britain, have announced security measures in the region.
Hamas urged Palestinians to rise up this Friday to protest Israeli strikes on Gaza, calling for demonstrations towards the Al Aqsa Mosque in East Jerusalem and clashes with Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank.
In a desire to display Israel’s unity in its fight against Hamas, the Knesset approved Thursday evening the entry into office of the national emergency unity government formed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the head of the centrist opposition, Benny Gantz, former Minister of Defense.
“HUMAN MISERY”
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Thursday that emergency generators powering hospitals in Gaza could stop working within several hours. The UN World Food Program (WFP) has warned of a serious shortage of food and drinking water.
“The human misery caused by this escalation is abominable and I implore stakeholders to reduce the suffering of civilians,” said ICRC director for the region, Fabrizio Carboni.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has said it has jurisdiction over possible war crimes by Hamas and Israelis in the Gaza Strip.
This conflict fuels security fears in Europe, where tensions have emerged for several days. In Paris, police used tear gas and a water cannon to disperse a crowd that had gathered in support of the Palestinians. French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin asked prefects to ban any pro-Palestinian demonstrations in the country.
Speaking in a televised address, President Emmanuel Macron said 13 French nationals were killed in the Hamas attack and 17 others, including children, were missing. “We share Israel’s grief,” he said.
A first plane chartered by the French authorities to evacuate French nationals from Israel arrived on Thursday at the Ile-de-France airport of Roissy. Other special flights are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, the Quai d’Orsay said.
In Amsterdam and London, some Jewish schools had to temporarily close their doors for security reasons.
In the United States, law enforcement officials said they had planned increased security this Friday in New York and Los Angeles, particularly near synagogues. Officials wanted to be reassuring in the face of potential threats.
The spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, John Kirby, also indicated that Washington would organize flights from this Friday to repatriate American nationals who wish to do so from Israel.
(Reporting Henriette Chacar, Dedi Hayun, Maayan Lubell and Emily Rose in Jerusalem, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, Emma Farge in Geneva, Jeff Mason in Washington, Humeyra Pamuk in Tel Aviv, Elizabeth Pineau, Jean-Stéphane Brosse and Zhifan Liu in Paris; written by Jean Terzian)
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