Thousands of people have been fleeing to the southern half of Gaza before an expected ground invasion of the blockaded strip as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict descends into its bloodiest period in decades.
Messages from Hamas broadcast by mosques around the tiny strip called on residents to stay put on Friday after the order from Israel for the population to move south of the Gaza River, just south of Gaza City. Hamas called it “Israeli propaganda” and urged residents to “hold on to your homes and land”.
Israel’s order to get out came six days after an unprecedented attack by Hamas gunmen early on Saturday, a Jewish holiday. At least 1,200 militants burst through dozens of different points on the heavily militarised boundary around the Gaza Strip before fanning out to rampage through 22 Israeli towns and kibbutzim and 10 army bases.The Rafah crossing into Egypt is still closed to fleeing civilians in Gaza.
In the besieged territory, the evacuation notice issued in the early hours of Friday sent panic through the civilian population and civil defence teams, who were already struggling under intense Israeli airstrikes that have killed 1,800 people so far, levelling entire neighbourhoods. The Israeli directive charged that Hamas militants were hiding in tunnels under Gaza City.
In response, Israel has already mounted the heaviest airstrikes on Gaza ever, mobilised an unparalleled 360,000 reservists, and amassed convoys of tanks near the border before what is almost certain to be a major ground offensive lasting months.Scores of Israeli and foreign hostages were taken back to Gaza after Saturday’s attack; Hamas claimed on Friday that 13 captives had been killed in Israeli strikes over the last 24 hours.
There have been several flare-ups on the “blue line” with Lebanon this week. Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group, has conveyed via mediators that it will be drawn into the fray if Israel launches a ground assault in Gaza.