According to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip are “just the beginning”. In a televised speech last night, he said: “Our enemies have only begun to pay the price. I can’t reveal what will happen, but I can say that this is just the beginning.”
First ground operations in the Gaza Strip
Israeli ground troops have already entered Palestinian territory for isolated operations ahead of their expected major offensive in the Gaza Strip. The army announced that the missions were aimed at searching for “missing persons” as well as “terrorists” and their weapons.
Yesterday morning, the army appealed to all civilians in the north of the Gaza Strip to move to an area south of the Wadi Gaza River for “their own safety”. She justified this appeal, which according to the UN affects around 1.1 million Palestinians, with military operations planned for the coming days.
To inform the population, Israel launched leaflets in Arabic via drones over Palestinian territory. Thousands of Palestinians then fled.
UN and NGO criticism
The United Nations criticized the evacuation order, saying it was “impossible” to implement. UN Secretary-General António Guterres is “in constant contact with the Israeli authorities to urge them to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe”, said his spokesman.
For its part, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stated that the call for the evacuation of Palestinians “along with the total siege that deprives them of food, water and electricity” is “incompatible with international humanitarian law”.