As Israel\u2019s military called for all civilians of Gaza City, more than one million people, to relocate south within 24 hours on Friday, the UN urged Tel Aviv to call off the order, warning of the \u201cdevastating humanitarian consequences\u201d.<\/p>\n
The order came as Israel amassed tanks near the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected ground invasion.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow is a time for war,\u201d Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Thursday as Israeli warplanes continued pounding Gaza in retaliation for the deadliest attack by Hamas fighters in its history.<\/p>\n
Key developments<\/strong><\/p>\n The Israeli military said it would operate \u201csignificantly\u201d in Gaza City in the coming days and civilians would only be able to return when another announcement was made.<\/p>\n \u201cCivilians of Gaza City, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families and distance yourself from Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields,\u201d the military said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cHamas terrorists are hiding in Gaza City inside tunnels underneath houses and inside buildings populated with innocent Gazan civilians.\u201d<\/p>\n This map shows the Gaza Strip prior to the current escalation in October. \u2014 OCHA document \u2018Flash Appeal for the Occupied Palestinian Territory\u2019 \u201cOur Palestinian people reject the threat of the occupation (Israeli) leaders and its call for them to leave their homes and flee from them to the south or Egypt,\u201d the group said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are steadfast on our land and in our homes and our cities. There will be no displacement,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas which led the offensive on Saturday, but a ground invasion of Gaza poses serious risk with Hamas holding scores of hostages kidnapped in the assault. Public broadcaster Kan said the Israeli death toll had risen to more than 1,300.<\/p>\n The Israeli military said in a statement on Friday that it struck \u201c750 military targets\u201d in northern Gaza overnight, including what it claimed were Hamas tunnels, military compounds, residences of senior operatives and weapons storage warehouses. Since Saturday, it has rained 6,000 bombs on Gaza, flattening entire neighbourhoods.<\/p>\n Gaza authorities said more than 1,500 Palestinians had been killed.<\/p>\n Israel has put Gaza, home to 2.3 million people, under siege.<\/p>\n The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said fuel powering emergency generators at hospitals in Gaza could run out within hours and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned food and fresh water were running dangerously low.<\/p>\n \u201cThe human misery caused by this escalation is abhorrent, and I implore the sides to reduce the suffering of civilians,\u201d ICRC regional director Fabrizio Carboni said.<\/p>\n In Gaza\u2019s main southern city Khan Younis, where cemeteries were already full, dead were being buried in empty lots, like the Samour family, killed on Wednesday night in a strike that hit their house.<\/p>\n Palestinian rescue worker Ibrahim Hamdan drove from one bomb site to another as his team tried to pull survivors from houses destroyed by the Israeli air strikes.<\/p>\n \u201cThis war is harsh beyond imagining,\u201d said Hamdan, who has worked through repeated wars since becoming a rescuer in 2007. \u201cThey knock down high-rise buildings on top of their residents.\u201d<\/p>\n Human Rights Watch on Thursday accused Israel of using white phosphorus munitions in its military operations in Gaza and Lebanon, saying the use of such weapons puts civilians at risk of serious and long-term injury.<\/p>\n Israel\u2019s military said it was \u201ccurrently not aware of the use of weapons containing white phosphorus in Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n Gazans, mainly descendants of refugees who fled or were expelled from homes in Israel at its founding in 1948, have suffered economic collapse and repeated Israeli bombardment under a blockade since Hamas seized power there 16 years ago.<\/p>\n Palestinian anger has mounted in recent months, with Israel carrying out the deadliest crackdown for years in the West Bank and its right-wing government talking of seizing more land. A peace process meant to create a Palestinian state collapsed a decade ago, which Palestinian leaders say left the population with no hope, strengthening extremists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As Israel\u2019s military called for all civilians of Gaza City, more than one million people, to relocate south within 24 hours on Friday, the UN urged Tel Aviv to call off the order, warning of the \u201cdevastating humanitarian consequences\u201d. The order came as Israel amassed tanks near the Gaza Strip ahead of an expected ground […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":361368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-361357","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n\n
\nIsraeli death toll from Hamas offensive rises to 1,300<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\nHamas, on the other hand, rejected the Israeli order.<\/p>\n