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.
A week after Israel suffered a deadly surprise attack by Hamas, the isolated Gaza Strip area – ruled by Hamas – is in turmoil amid a sweeping evacuation order, a growing water crisis and bombings ahead of a feared Israeli ground offensive.
Palestinians found it difficult to escape on foot, by car or by donkey cart as access to food, medicine and fuel became scarce. Israel sealed off the Gaza Strip, cutting off supplies of essential goods to its 2.3 million people and saying it would continue the siege until Hamas returned dozens of hostages last weekend.
The other route out of Gaza, to Egypt, also appeared closed as it was unclear whether the country – which normally blocks its borders – would allow Gazans and humanitarian supplies to safely enter the territory.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday reiterated US support for Israel’s defense efforts and noted the need to protect civilians.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said Friday that about 1,800 people were killed in the territory. According to the Israeli military, more than 1,300 people, including 222 soldiers, were killed in Israel.
In some parts of the Gaza Strip, water stopped coming from the taps at all. Amal Abu Yahia, a 25-year-old pregnant mother in Jabaliya refugee camp, told the Associated Press she waits anxiously every day or every other day for the few minutes when contaminated water seeps from pipes in her basement. Then she rations it, giving priority to her 5-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter. She said she drinks so little herself that she only urinates every other day.
Mohammed Ibrahim, 28, said his neighbors in Gaza City drank the salt water from their taps, which was contaminated with Mediterranean water due to a lack of sanitation.
Israel renewed on social media and in leaflets dropped from the sky its order to evacuate about half of Gazans south ahead of an expected ground operation against Hamas militants inside the territory. Hamas, meanwhile, urged people to stay there.
Rami Swailem said he and a handful of other families in his building would remain in Gaza City: “We are rooted in our land… We would rather die with dignity and face our fate.”
Others were desperately looking for a way out.
“We know that hundreds of thousands of people have fled. And that a total of one million people were displaced in one week,” said Juliette Touma, a spokeswoman for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.
The agency said many people – particularly pregnant women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities – will not be able to flee the area. And UNICEF has called for an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian access to Gaza, saying children and families in Gaza are virtually running out of food, water, electricity, medicine and safe access to hospitals.
Latest developments:
∎ The Israeli military said its troops carried out temporary raids in Gaza on Friday to combat militants and search for traces of around 150 people – including men, women and children – abducted during Hamas’ shocking attack on southern Israel .
∎ The Israeli army said on Saturday it had attacked militants trying to enter Israel from Lebanon. It was not clear which group the militants belonged to.
∎ Patients and medical staff at Gaza’s Al-Awda hospital spent part of their night on the streets “as bombs landed nearby” after Israel ordered the facility to be evacuated, medical aid group Doctors Without Borders said .
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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday called for the protection of civilians and expressed support for Israel’s campaign to overthrow Hamas, whose militants took more than 100 people hostage in last Saturday’s attack.
“As Israel pursues its legitimate right to defend its people and ensure that something like this never happens again, it is critical that we all pay attention to civilians, and we are working together to do just that,” Blinken said.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press on Saturday that Washington had stressed the importance of civilian safety as Israel forced evacuations, but had not called on Israel to slow or halt the evacuations.
“None of us want to see civilians suffer on any side, be it in Israel, be it in Gaza, be it anywhere else,” Blinken said.
Issam Abdallah, a Portal videographer who was killed in a shootout with a group of international journalists along the Israel-Lebanese border, was buried on Saturday as part of a funeral procession attended by hundreds of mourners.
Several journalists were also injured on Friday, including two other Portal journalists and two Al-Jazeera TV employees, the news agencies said. The Associated Press reported that an Israeli shell hit the journalists.
Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry called on Beirut’s mission to the United Nations to file a complaint against Israel over Friday’s shelling, calling it a “flagrant violation and a crime against freedom of expression and freedom of the press.” The statement was published by the state-run National News Agency.
Israeli military spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht did not confirm to the Associated Press in Jerusalem on Saturday that the journalists were hit by an Israeli shell, but said: “We are aware of the incident with the Portal journalist and are investigating it…” . We are very sorry for his death.”
American officials have tried to mediate negotiations between Israel, Egypt and Qatar to temporarily open the Rafah border crossing to allow foreigners to leave Gaza, the Associated Press reported.
A senior State Department official traveling with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the outlet that U.S. officials are reaching out to Americans known to be in the Gaza Strip. The official also said it was not clear whether Hamas would allow the convoys to get there unhindered.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the negotiations publicly.
Egyptian officials said the Rafah border crossing remained closed due to a dispute over aid to Gaza and that U.S. citizens staying in the area were not yet allowed to leave.
Hamas’s military wing claimed on Saturday that nine hostages – including four foreigners – were killed in the past 24 hours as a result of Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip in areas where hostages were being held.
The claims could not be independently verified.
A day earlier, Hamas said 13 hostages had been killed in the bombing. Hamas took around 100 people hostage in its violent attacks in Israel a week ago.
The Gaza Strip is surrounded by blockades imposed by Israel and Egypt.
Egyptian officials have long tried to encourage Palestinians to stay on their territory, in part because welcoming refugees could worsen the long-running regional conflict. Gaza was originally populated by Palestinians expelled from the land that became Israel in 1948.
Mass evacuation and blockade declared.
Contribution: The Associated Press