(Reuters) – 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 in a manner significant” in the area, suggesting the imminence of a military intervention on the ground.
It is now “war time”, declared the head of the Israeli army, as the IDF continued on Thursday to deploy tanks near the Gaza Strip and massively shell the territory, in retaliation for Hamas’ unprecedented deadly attack on Israel.
According to Kan public television, the latest death toll from this attack is 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.
At the same time, the authorities of the Gaza Strip, placed under “total” blockade, have reported more than 1,500 Palestinians killed since Israel began its retaliatory strikes.
Humanitarian organizations are concerned about the situation in the Gaza Strip, with the UN considering it impossible to urgently relocate a population of more than a million Palestinians living in the north of the enclave “without devastating consequences”.
THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
1:15 p.m. – Josep Borrell, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs, said Israel has the right to defend itself against aggression but that this must be done within the framework of international law. It is completely unrealistic to think that a million people could move in 24 hours, he added.
12:59 – Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Qassem warned that the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite movement was “ready” and would “contribute” to clashes against Israel according to its own plan, despite calls from foreign powers asking it to to stay away.
12:56 p.m. – Jordanian riot police on Friday forcibly dispersed hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters trying to reach a border area with the Israeli-occupied West Bank, as thousands staged anti-Israel demonstrations across the country, according to witnesses.
12:44 p.m. – Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met in Amman with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to whom he declared that he “rejected the forced displacement” of Palestinians from Gaza, according to the Palestinian News Agency official WAFA.
12:41 p.m. – The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees has described Israel’s call to displace more than a million civilians in northern Gaza in 24 hours as “horrible.” The enclave is quickly becoming a “hell hole,” the organization warned.
12:20 p.m. – Meta will remove messages of praise and support for Hamas from its platforms, the group announced, while the European Union (EU) criticizes social networks for not making enough effort to combat disinformation.
11:25 a.m. – Residents of the Gaza Strip have been urged not to leave their homes, following Israel’s call to evacuate. “We tell the residents of the northern district of Gaza and Gaza City not to move from their homes and living spaces. By carrying out massacres against civilians, the occupation wants to drive us once again from our land,” said Eyad Al-Bozom, spokesman for Hamas’ interior ministry.
11:20 a.m. – The International Criminal Court (ICC) has jurisdiction to try potential war crimes committed by Hamas militants in Israel and Israelis in the Gaza Strip, even though Israel is not a member state, said Thursday Reuters the prosecutor general of the ICC.
11:16 a.m. – Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, has warned that an Israeli ground operation in Gaza would result in civilian casualties. The conflict should be resolved by peaceful means, he added, clarifying that Russia supports a two-state solution.
11:01 a.m. – Jordan’s King Abdullah warned Israel on Friday against any attempt to forcibly displace Palestinians, even within the country. In a statement published by the Royal Court account on
11:00 – According to Unicef, 447 children have been killed in Gaza and reports indicate an even higher toll.
10:55 a.m. – Health authorities in Gaza informed the World Health Organization (WHO) that it was impossible to evacuate vulnerable patients from the northern Gaza Strip after the Israeli army’s call to move to the south within 24 hours.
“There are seriously ill people whose injuries mean their only chance of survival is to be on life support, such as mechanical ventilators,” said WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic.
“Displacing these people is therefore a death sentence.”
10:48 a.m. – The Palestinian mission in Japan asked Tokyo to maintain humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population and to play a neutral role in the conflict between Hamas and Israel.
10:41 a.m. – The Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, announced that they had launched 150 rockets on the city of Ashkelon in Israel “in response to the displacement and targeting of civilians.”
10:35 a.m. – An employee of the Israeli embassy in Beijing was attacked on Friday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that the person was in stable condition and being treated in hospital.
09:41 – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with King Abdullah of Jordan in Amman on Friday, the second stop on a tour of the Middle East that began the day before in Israel. He must then go to the Arab countries of the Gulf and Egypt. Before leaving for Doha, Antony Blinken planned to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, the Jordanian capital.
09:31 – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met on Friday in Lebanon with the leader of the Shiite armed group Hezbollah, local Lebanese media reported.
Hossein Amirabdollahian, who arrived in Beirut late Thursday, met with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to discuss the consequences of Hamas’ assault on Israel, Al-Mayadeen television channel reported.
09:30 – At least 13 Israeli hostages were killed during Israeli strikes on Gaza over the past 24 hours, the Al Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, said in a statement on Friday.
09:04 – British Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin landed in Israel on Friday, according to media reports.
08:37 – Israel’s Foreign Ministry said Friday it expressed “deep disappointment” in a call with China’s Middle East envoy over China’s lack of “clear and unequivocal” condemnation of attack perpetrated by Hamas.
08:30 – The UK Foreign Office has updated its travel advice to ask its nationals in Gaza to follow Israel’s advice and travel to the southern Gaza Strip within the next 24 hours.
08:09 – According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 400,000 people have fled their homes in the Gaza Strip. Additionally, 23 aid workers have been killed since Israeli retaliatory strikes began in response to Hamas’ deadly incursion.
07:42 – Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke on Friday with his Emirati counterpart about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, said a source within the Turkish ministry without providing further details.
Hakan Fidan is due to travel to Egypt on Friday for discussions on regional issues.
07:22 – The Turkish Foreign Ministry on Friday asked its nationals in Lebanon not to travel to the south of the country due to fighting between Israeli and Palestinian forces.
06:48 – The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said it has relocated its operations center and international staff to southern Gaza to continue its humanitarian operations and support its staff and Palestinian refugees.
(Written by Blandine Hénault)
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