Israel Offers Time-Limited Safe Passage to Over One Million Palestinians
Israel has offered a time-limited opportunity for more than a million Palestinians to safely exit northern Gaza as the military conducts “localized raids” in anticipation of a potential ground assault.
This mass exodus has occurred despite warnings from the United Nations and humanitarian organizations that a forced evacuation would result in severe humanitarian consequences, leaving hospital patients and others stranded.
Israel has recently extended the deadline for departure, allowing Gazans to travel safely on two main southbound routes between 10 am and 4 pm their local time.
As families, loaded with their belongings, depart Gaza City in cars, trucks, and donkey carts, Israeli airstrikes continue to target the besieged territory.
Hamas reported that 70 people, predominantly women and children, were killed in an attack on a fleeing convoy. The target of the airstrikes and whether militants were among the passengers remains unclear.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has stated that its troops are carrying out raids in Gaza to combat insurgents and locate over 120 civilians kidnapped during last weekend’s surprise attack by militants in southern Israel. This marks the first time Israel has acknowledged that ground troops are operating inside the strip. Israeli media reports indicate that the remains of people missing since last week’s attack have been found during the IDF raids.
The military also reported a drone strike that killed several militants attempting to cross from Lebanon.
For nearly a week, Israel’s military has been launching retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza, primarily targeting Hamas, the ruling Palestinian militant group, which breached the border last weekend, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Israelis in their homes and 260 others at a music festival.
The Palestinian health ministry reports that Israeli strikes on Gaza have claimed the lives of 2,269 people, including hundreds of women and children, with thousands more injured. Israel has reported a total of 1,300 casualties since the surprise raid, with troops amassing along the barbed wire fence, hinting at a possible ground offensive in Gaza, as 360,000 reservists have been called up.
Palestinians had been ordered to evacuate to the southern part of the territory across the Wadi Gaza – a piece of coastal wetland with a river running through the middle – to “save their lives”.
But Hamas militants have vowed to fight and told residents to stay, urging them “not to fall” for “fake propaganda”.
The UN had appealed for the evacuation order to be rescinded to avoid turning “what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation”.
The Israeli response to the Hamas attacks has generated both strong support and sympathy, as well as anger. Pro-Palestinian protests are anticipated worldwide this weekend, including in London and other parts of the UK, raising concerns about potential clashes with counter-demonstrations in support of Israel.
In addition, efforts by the US to establish a humanitarian corridor for the safe passage of civilians out of Gaza have been rejected by Israel’s Arab neighbors. Egypt and Jordan have both cautioned against Palestinians being forced off their land, where they aspire to build a future state. This situation evokes memories of the “Nakba,” or “catastrophe,” when many Palestinians were displaced during the 1948 war.
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