Israeli forces are preparing for a major ground assault in Gaza, as it urged Palestinians to flee the areas it has vowed to target in response to the deadliest attack in its history.
Israeli military spokesman Richard Hecht has urged civilians in northern Gaza, where Hamas’s leadership is based, not to delay in getting out. “We are preparing to attack Gaza by “air, sea and land,” an army official said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said “more is coming” in Israel’s response to Hamas’s shock attack last week, according to a video released by his office. “Are you ready for what is coming? More is coming,” Netanyahu, wearing a flak jacket, was heard telling soldiers.
Some 1.1 million people – nearly half the population of 2.4 million – live in the north of Gaza, and aid groups have said forcing them to move is an impossibility as the war rages. With food, water, fuel and medical supplies running low because of an Israeli blockade, aid agencies are warning of an impending humanitarian crisis in Gaza. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the situation in Gaza as “a dangerous new low”.
A potential Israeli ground invasion has also increased fears for the safety of the 150 hostages, including foreigners, that Israel said Hamas captured during its deadly rampage.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, which several Western governments, including the US, have proscribed as a terrorist organisation, and likened to the Islamic State group.
The Gaza Health Ministry says 2,329 Palestinians have been killed since the latest fighting erupted, making this the deadliest of the five Gaza wars for Palestinians.The death toll on Sunday surpassed that of the third war between Israel and Hamas, in the summer of 2014, when 2,251 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians, were killed, according to U.N. figures.That war lasted six weeks, and 74 people were killed on the Israeli side, including six civilians.The current war erupted a week ago when Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel in a shocking surprise attack. More than 1,300 Israelis have been killed in the initial, wide-ranging assault and in rocket attacks from Gaza. The overwhelming majority were civilians.For Israel, this is the deadliest war since the 1973 conflict with Egypt and Syria.Israeli forces, supported by a growing deployment of US warships in the region, positioned themselves along Gaza’s border and drilled for what Israel said would be a broad campaign to dismantle the militant group. A week of blistering airstrikes have demolished entire neighborhoods but failed to stem militant rocket fire into Israel.In Israel, pathologists and others at a military base worked through the Jewish Sabbath to identify the more than 1,300 Israelis and others killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 assault. The Gaza Health Ministry said Saturday that over 2,200 people have been killed in the territory, including 724 minors and 458 women.
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