Israel tells 1.1 million people to leave northern Gaza

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas denounces ‘forced displacement’

By Edward Era Barbacena 

Israel declared war and launched air strikes on the enclave, which Hamas controls, after armed gunmen crossed the border on Saturday, killing more than 1,300 civilians and soldiers and kidnapping dozens more.

Israel’s president Isaac Herzog accused Palestinians in Gaza of being collectively responsible for the attack. “It’s not true this rhetoric about civilians [being] not aware, not involved. It’s absolutely not true,” he said on Friday. “They could have risen up, they could have fought against that evil regime which took over Gaza in a coup d’état.”

The IDF said that, in coming days it would “continue to operate significantly in Gaza City and make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians”. Palestinian authorities say more than 1,500 people in Gaza have been killed since the beginning of the military escalation.

Some in the region took Friday’s warning, a week into the Israel-Hamas war, as a sign of an imminent ground operation focused on the densely populated city and the north of the enclave. Israel says it has hit 2,687 targets in Gaza and that over 6,000 rockets have been fired from the territory.

The UN said its humanitarian and security teams had been informed by “liaison officers in the Israeli military that the entire population of Gaza north of Wadi Gaza [an area in the centre of the territory] should relocate to southern Gaza within the next 24 hours”.

But an Israeli military official did not confirm that there was a 24-hour deadline, adding that moving would “take time”.

Hamas’s interior ministry for the territory told people to remain where they were, amid confusion in Gaza, which is home to more than 2mn people.

Queues formed in front of petrol stations which were later shut for lack of fuel, as some people packed suitcases and headed south. Many others, who lacked transport, stayed at home.

“We will not leave, we will stay together,” said Om Saher, who lives in Beit Lahia in the north of Gaza with four of her married children and their families. “Either we live together or we die together. We will not be displaced again.”

The UN said Israel’s call applied to its own staff in Gaza and to tens of thousands of displaced people sheltering in UN facilities, including schools, health centres and clinics.

“The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” said spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, warning that it could “transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation”.

The IDF said it was “controlling” its attacks to provide a “safe way” for evacuation. “We know how to do this through all the channels that are provided,” said Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, an IDF spokesperson. “As much as we can — it’s a war zone — we will try to make sure that it happens safely.”

He accused Hamas of a “crime against humanity” by holding dozens of hostages in Gaza — including Israelis, and American and European citizens.

The UN’s agency for Palestinian relief, UNRWA, called on Israel to protect the 270,000 people taking refuge in its shelters, adding that international humanitarian law meant they must “never come under attack.”

Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA commissioner-general, said: “The scale and speed of the unfolding humanitarian crisis is bone-chilling. Gaza is fast becoming a hell hole and is on the brink of collapse.”

The agency said Gaza City was its centre of operations but it was relocating some staff to the south to allow it “to continue operations and services to people in need in Gaza”.