Palestinians flee Gaza as Israel prepares for assault

| October 15, 2023

Israeli troops are preparing for a ground assault on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip as the country hits back after an unprecedented assault on its territory, and Iran warns of “far-reaching consequences” if Israel’s bombardment is not stopped.

Israel has vowed to annihilate the militant group Hamas in retaliation for a rampage eight days ago in which fighters stormed through Israeli towns, shooting men, women and children and seizing hostages in the worst attack on civilians in the country’s history.

Some 1,300 people were killed in the  onslaught, with reports from medical and emergency services of atrocities in the towns and kibbutzes that were overrun.

Israel responded by subjecting Gaza to the most intense bombardment it has ever seen, putting the enclave, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, under total siege and destroying much of its infrastructure.

Gaza authorities say more than 2,200 people have been killed, a quarter of them children, and nearly 10,000 wounded. One million people had reportedly left their homes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government also told Lebanese militant group Hezbollah not to start a war on a second front, threatening the “destruction of Lebanon” if it did.

Iran’s mission to the United Nations warned late on Saturday that if Israel’s “war crimes and genocide” were not halted immediately, “the situation could spiral out of control” and have far-reaching consequences.

Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Iran’s foreign minister on Saturday in Qatar, where they discussed the Palestinian group’s attack in Israel “and agreed to continue cooperation” to achieve the group’s goals, Hamas said in a statement.

US President Joe Biden and other world leaders warned against any country broadening the conflict, while international organisations and aid groups urged calm and pressed Israel to allow humanitarian assistance to get through.

In New York, Russia asked the UN Security Council to vote on Monday on a draft resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict that calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and condemns violence against civilians and all acts of terrorism.

On Saturday, Biden called Netanyahu and, while reiterating “unwavering” support for Israel, discussed international coordination to ensure innocent civilians have access to water, food and medical care.

Biden also spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who stressed the urgent need to allow urgent humanitarian aid corridors in Gaza.

The US Department of Defense said the Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group would start moving towards the Eastern Mediterranean to join another carrier strike group already there.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said it was “part of our effort to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack on Israel.”

On Friday, the Israeli military told residents of the northern half of the Gaza Strip, which includes the enclave’s biggest settlement, Gaza City, to move south immediately. On Saturday, it said it would guarantee the safety of Palestinians fleeing on two main roads until a deadline passed.

Hamas told people not to leave and says roads out are unsafe. It said dozens of people were killed in strikes on cars and trucks carrying refugees on Friday, which Reuters could not independently verify.

Some residents said they would not leave, remembering the “Nakba,” or “catastrophe,” when many Palestinians were forced from their homes during the 1948 war that accompanied Israel’s creation.

srael says Hamas is preventing people from leaving in order to use them as human shields, which Hamas denies.

The Palestinian Health Ministry said early on Sunday that 300 people, mostly children and women, had been killed, and 800 others had been injured in Gaza during the last 24 hours.

The only route out of Gaza not under Israeli control was a checkpoint with Egypt at Rafah. Egypt officially says its side is open, but traffic has been halted for days because of Israeli strikes. Egyptian security sources said Cairo has no intention of accepting a mass influx of refugees.

A US State Department official said the US was working to open the crossing to let some people out.