GAZA- Over a million residents of Gaza City on Friday received a 24-hour warning from the Israeli military to evacuate southward, as Israeli tanks gathered near the Gaza Strip, raising concerns of an impending ground offensive.
Israeli warplanes continued their attacks on Gaza while Defence Minister Yoav Gallant declared, “Now is a time for war.”
The military emphasized the likelihood of significant operations in Gaza City in the coming days, with residents only allowed to return after a formal announcement.
The United Nations conveyed the Israeli military’s warning, which Palestinian apprehensions suggest may lead to an Israeli ground assault.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the warning but had deployed tanks near the Gaza border and launched airstrikes in response to Hamas’s efforts to liberate Gaza from decades-long Israeli occupation.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric deemed such a movement untenable due to its dire humanitarian consequences, urging the rescission of any confirmed order to prevent an already tragic situation from worsening.
Dujarric extended the order’s application to all UN staff and those seeking refuge in UN facilities, including schools, health centers, and clinics.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, appeared to confirm the warning, criticizing the UN’s response as “shameful” and urging a focus on condemning Hamas and supporting Israel’s right to self-defense.
Salama Marouf, head of the Hamas government media office, regarded the relocation warning as a ploy to disseminate false propaganda and disrupt internal cohesion among citizens, urging residents not to fall for these attempts.
Gaza authorities reported over 1,500 Palestinian casualties, including hundreds of children, due to Israeli bombings. Palestinian Red Crescent alleged that four medics were deliberately targeted by Israeli forces.
Gaza, home to 2.3 million people, remains under siege, with Israeli airstrikes devastating entire neighborhoods.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned that fuel for emergency generators at Gaza hospitals could run out within hours, while the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) highlighted dangerously low food and fresh water supplies.
ICRC regional director Fabrizio Carboni decried the human suffering from the escalation and implored both sides to minimize civilian distress.
