Israel orders 11 lakh to leave north Gaza as ground invasion looms

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, October 13

The Israeli military has ordered about 11 lakh people in northern Gaza to evacuate en masse to the southern part within 24 hours with the UN warning that such a large exodus would be catastrophic even as terrorist outfit Hamas called on the residents not to flee.

• Editorial: Exercise restraint

With the Israeli military building a training base to replicate Gaza’s urban landscape, the evacuation orders are said to be a prelude for a ground invasion. In a statement on Friday, the Israeli army said troops had entered Gaza to carry out “small raids” to battle militants, destroy weapons and search for evidence about the missing hostages held by Hamas. Israel has been massing troops along the Gaza border since last Saturday’s deadly incursion by Hamas militants.

212 Indian citizens arrived in Delhi from Israel on Friday while the second batch flew out of conflict-ridden nation in the evening

Situation grave:EAM

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Friday spoke on phone to his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan and discussed the “grave” situation in West Asia.

The development came as the blockaded area’s residents endured another day without water and power, which led to several reporters there ceasing their broadcasts, thus ending any information that was filtering out. Through the ground offensive, Israel is said to be looking to send out a strong message. The Israeli forces entering Gaza would also have a better chance of killing top Hamas terrorists and rescuing hostages. The Israeli military has summoned 3.6 lakh reservists who have been deployed for the ground invasion. But while trying to get at Hamas militants believed to be sheltered inside tunnels underneath houses and buildings, there will be bloody street-by-street battles, say reports.

Even before the orders came in, international aid groups have been warning of a worsening humanitarian crisis after Israel blockaded supplies from entering Gaza early this week. The death toll in Gaza alone is over 1,600, out of a total of 2,800 killed on both sides.

Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Tel Aviv to evaluate the dispatch of US weapons and security assistance to the Israeli military. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Tel Aviv on Thursday, reached Amman for talks with Jordanian King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The Malaysian government broke its silence and said it would provide emergency relief to Gaza residents following Israel’s “outrageous acts of cruelty”.

India ups security after France, China attacks

• India has increased security for Israeli missions, diplomats and embassy staff in New Delhi
• An alert was also sounded in select states, including HP, Goa and Maharashtra, where Israelis live in large numbers
• The alert came as a Chechen-origin man stabbed a teacher to death and critically wounded two others in northern France
• In Beijing, an Israeli diplomat was stabbed in full view; the injured envoy, however, managed to limp away from attacker
• The attacks came as terrorist group Hamas declared Friday as ‘Global Day of Jihad’

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