Palestinians scrambled to flee northern Gaza after Israel’s military told about 1 million people to leave for the southern part of the besieged territory
Palestinians scrambled to flee northern Gaza after Israel's military urged about 1 million people to leave for the territory's south ahead of an expected ground invasion following the surprise attack a week ago by the ruling Hamas militant group — despite warnings from the U.N. that evacuating nearly half of Gaza's population would be calamitous.
Israel's raid Friday was the first word of troops entering Gaza since Israel's round-the-clock bombardment in retaliation for Hamas’ massacre of hundreds of civilians in southern Israel. A military spokesman said Israeli ground troops left after conducting the raids. The troop movements did not appear to be the beginning of an expected ground invasion. The evacuation order was taken as a further signal of an expected Israeli ground offensive, although no such decision has been announced.
The U.N. said the Israeli military's call for civilians to move south affects 1.1 million people. If carried out, that would mean the territory’s entire population would have to cram into the southern half of the 40-kilometer strip. An Israeli spokesperson, Jonathan Conricus, said the military would take “extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians” and that residents would be allowed to return when the war is over. Israel has long accused Hamas of using Palestinians as human shields.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said it was impossible to safely transport the many wounded from hospitals, which are already struggling with high numbers of dead and injured. “We cannot evacuate hospitals and leave the wounded and sick to die,” spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said. Farsakh, of the Palestinian Red Crescent, said some medics refused to abandon patients and instead called colleagues to say goodbye. “We have wounded, we have elderly, we have children who are in hospitals,” she said.
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