Thousands of Palestinians flee to southern Gaza in search of refuge after Israel warns them to leave before an expected ground offensive against Hamas in retaliation for the deadliest attack in Israel's history.
Thousands of Palestinians have fled to southern Gaza in search of refuge after Israel warned them to evacuate before an expected ground offensive against Hamas in retaliation for the deadliest attack in Israel's history.
Hamas, proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union and the United States, took some 150 Israeli, foreign and dual national hostages back to Gaza in the initial attack, Israel has said.On Friday, Hamas claimed that 13 hostages had been killed in Israeli air strikes. It has previously said four hostages died in bombardments.
A Reuters video journalist was killed in south Lebanon, the international news agency said. Two other Reuters reporters were injured, as were two from AFP and two from Al Jazeera. "Forcing population transfers constitutes a crime against humanity, and collective punishment is prohibited under international humanitarian law," said Paula Gaviria Betancur, a UN expert on displacement.
The army said it "will continue to operate significantly in Gaza City and make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians".Israel is preparing to carry out a ground operation whose mission is to "destroy Hamas".
Hamas has said Palestinians rejected the evacuation request, yet thousands of Gazans were on the move in search of safety, carrying plastic bags of belongings, suitcases on their shoulders and children in their arms.
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