The Israeli army's current major offensive triggered a mass exodus from the Nuseirat, Bureij and Maghasi districts in the center of the densely populated Palestinian territory on Thursday. “Young children, women with babies in their arms, people with disabilities and the elderly do not know where to go,” the UN Palestinian Relief Agency (UNRWA) said on social media.
Many people who had previously fled from the north to the center of the Gaza Strip tried to seek safety in the already completely overcrowded city of Deir al-Balah. UNRWA described Israel's evacuation orders as “forced displacement”. Faced with the advance of tanks, the Israeli army repeatedly called on people to leave the fighting areas.
Forced to move again
Order to evacuate Israeli authorities from the middle #Gaza causes continuous forced displacement
More than 150,000 people – young children, pregnant women, people with disabilities and the elderly – have nowhere to go
The only remaining hope is humanitarian #stop fire pic.twitter.com/g26qi62Pro
-UNRWA (@UNRWA) December 28, 2023
According to UNRWA, 40 percent of the population of the Gaza Strip is at risk of starving to death as a result of the fighting. “Every day is a fight for survival, for finding food and water,” said UNRWA Gaza director Thomas White at X. It’s about getting more aid to people, White said. “The only hope left is a humanitarian ceasefire.”
Hundreds of foreigners are also leaving the area
The departure of foreigners and Palestinians with dual citizenship from the Gaza Strip also continues. Hundreds of people were expected to leave the isolated coastal strip for Egypt on Thursday, according to a list from the Palestinian border authority at the Rafah border crossing.
Since the start of Israel's war in Gaza against the Palestinian militant organization Hamas, hundreds of foreigners and people with multiple passports have traveled to Egypt via Rafah. Many of them are met at the border by representatives of the respective embassies, who then organize the continuation of the journey through Cairo Airport.
According to the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in November, around 7,000 people from 60 countries were temporarily in the Gaza Strip and wanted to leave. It is unclear how many foreigners and Palestinians with second passports are currently still in Gaza.
Effort for the Austrians
Tal Shoham, a dual Austrian-Israeli citizen, is still in the Gaza Strip. However, he is likely being held hostage by Hamas. Shoham's wife and children were released under an agreement between Israel and Hamas on the release of hostages in exchange for a ceasefire and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
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As “Kleine Zeitung” reported, Chancellor Karl Nehammer's (ÖVP) special foreign policy advisor, Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal, is trying to free 38-year-old Shoham.
Diplomat Launsky-Tieffenthal, former UN Under-Secretary-General and later spokesman for Chancellor Sebastian Kurz's turquoise federal government (ÖVP) and Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, retired this autumn, but soon became Nehammer's special advisor and now has an office in the Federal Chancellery again, the newspaper wrote. Last week, Launsky-Tieffenthal held talks in Israel, Egypt and Qatar about Shoham. This turned out to be difficult.
Fierce fighting in the center and in Khan Yunis
Despite international calls for restraint, Israel increased the deployment of its ground troops just before Christmas, with the current focus on the central Gaza Strip. Particularly fierce fighting was reported in Bureij on Thursday. Neighboring residents and militants said Israeli tanks were advancing into the city from the north and east.
New escalation is feared in the Middle East
Israel is said to have put soldiers on alert on the border with Lebanon. The reason for this is the increase in airstrikes against Israel by the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.
According to Palestinian sources, 50 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip. In addition to the center, Chan Yunis, in the south, was once again the scene of fierce fighting. Many people from the north had also already fled to this city. The Red Crescent wrote on X (Twitter) that ten people were killed and another twelve were injured in an attack near Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis on Thursday.
According to doctors and the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, more than 20 people were killed in the bombing of a residential building in the area on Wednesday. The information cannot be independently verified. An Israeli army spokesman said on Thursday that he was investigating the new reports. Israel suspects that Hamas leadership is hidden in Khan Younis.
UN soldier injured in Lebanon
Since the outbreak of the new conflict, there have been repeated violent clashes on the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon. The Hezbollah militia, supported by Israel's archenemy Iran, is active there. According to Lebanese reports, three people were killed in an Israeli attack on Wednesday night in the border town of Bint Jbail. Australian Foreign Minister Mark Dreyfus confirmed to X on Thursday that there were two Australians among them.
On Thursday night, a soldier from the UN observation mission UNIFIL was injured by unknown assailants on the border with Israel in Lebanon. A group of youths attacked a patrol of peacekeepers, UNIFIL said. UNIFIL condemned any attacks on UN soldiers and called on the Lebanese authorities to “launch a thorough and swift investigation and bring all perpetrators to justice”.
The Israeli military says it is on high alert in the north of the country, given the increasing attacks from Lebanon. “Today we approved a series of plans for various contingencies and we must be prepared to attack if necessary,” Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said on Wednesday.