Residents of the Gaza Strip are being evacuated south at the insistence of the Israeli armed forces
Residents of the northern Gaza Strip are being evacuated south at the insistence of Israeli forces, potentially triggering a humanitarian crisis.
The Israel Defense Forces said it had killed a senior Hamas commander and Israel gave Palestinians a three-hour security deadline to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip, as Tel Aviv stepped up efforts on Sunday to wipe out the militant group blockading the battered territory ruled with an iron fist to achieve more than 15 years.
The IDF said Billal Al Kedra led the Hamas commando forces responsible for the massacre at Kibbutz Nirim in the early hours of the invasion on October 7. Israeli authorities say more than 100 men, women and children were slaughtered and dozens of homes destroyed at the kibbutz, less than a mile from the Gaza border.
“IDF warplanes operated in Gaza and neutralized Billal Al Kedra,” the IDF said in a statement that included video of the attack. “Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were also neutralized.”
Israel has ordered more than a million Palestinians to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip, creating a humanitarian crisis that has sparked protests at the United Nations and around the world. The IDF said it would not conduct operations along the main southbound road on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“During this period, please take advantage of the opportunity to advance southward from northern Gaza,” the IDF said in social media posts. “Rest assured, Hamas leaders have already ensured their safety and that of their families.”
Developments:
∎ Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to Israel this week after completing a six-man raid in the region to prevent an expansion of the war, the State Department announced.
∎ Pope Francis renewed his call for peace, restraint and the release of the hostages: “I urge that children, the elderly, women and all civilians do not become victims of the conflict.”
The Palestinian death toll rose to 2,329, Gaza’s health ministry said on Sunday. This makes the war the deadliest of five Gaza wars for Palestinians. More than 1,300 Israelis were killed in Hamas’ initial attack and subsequent rocket attacks from Gaza. The vast majority of those killed in the war were civilians. For Israel, this is the deadliest war since the conflict with Egypt and Syria in 1973.
The U.S. death toll stands at 29, and more than a dozen Americans are missing and fear they may be killed or taken hostage.
Looking from a distance: People with loved ones in Israel and Gaza with constant trauma
People with ties to the region are suffering from traumatic stress, even though they may be thousands of miles away from the conflict. The war between Israel and Hamas has created an immediate crisis far beyond the Middle East, affecting the lives of loved ones abroad and leaving Americans living far from kibbutzim and refugee camps in a constant state of emergency. Mental health experts warn that the violent, shocking images and news about the conflict are increasing traumatic stress. The flood of information and images can have a profound impact on health and well-being.
“What we are seeing is unnecessary, avoidable suffering,” said Dr. Alishia Moreland-Capuia, assistant professor of psychiatry at Harvard and founder and director of the Institute for Trauma-Informed Systems Change at McLean Hospital near Boston. Read more here.
− Eduardo Cuevas
Contribution: The Associated Press