Israel - Palestinian militants launch massive attack, 7 Oct 2023 #2

[JennieM]

3m ago05.15 BST

Israeli envoy says 'UN’s response to Israel’s early warning to the residents of Gaza is shameful'​

Back now to the IDF warning the UN that 1.1 million people should leave north Gaza in the next 24 hours.

Israel’s military did not immediately provide comment on the warning, which came as it amassed tanks near the Gaza border and pounded the enclave with air strikes.

But appearing to confirm a warning took place, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Gilad Erdan, told Reuters: “The UN’s response to Israel’s early warning to the residents of Gaza is shameful.”

Erdan said the UN should focus on condemning Hamas and supporting Israel’s right to self-defence.

The UN response that he refereed to was a statement from UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, saying, “The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” and that, “The United Nations strongly appeals for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation”.

Israel-Hamas war live: Israeli military has told 1.1 million in Gaza to move further south in next 24 hours, UN says

UN spokesperson says such a movement would have ‘devastating humanitarian consequences’ as Israel prepares for a ground offensive; Palestinian death toll rises to 1,537, according to Gaza’s health ministry

www.theguardian.com

 

[SouthAussie]

5m ago
Kirby also told CNN that the US speaking to the Israeli military hourly about the hostages taken by Hamas.

“I can tell you that we are in literally hourly contact with our Israeli counterparts about the hostage situation, we’ve offered expertise and counsel, of course, they know how to do hostage recovery very, very well,” he said.

“We’re mindful of the delicate nature of this hostage situation, because they’re most likely being held somewhere in Gaza. It’s a war zone, it’s a combat zone that greatly complicates efforts to find them and to and to work on their release.”

Israel-Hamas war live: Israeli military has told 1.1 million in Gaza to move further south in next 24 hours, UN says

UN spokesperson says such a movement would have ‘devastating humanitarian consequences’ as Israel prepares for a ground offensive; Palestinian death toll rises to 1,537, according to Gaza’s health ministry

www.theguardian.com

They will be held in northern Gaza ... the non-evacuation zone. If they are not there already, they soon will be. imo

 

[Chimera]

Live updates: Israel-Hamas war news (cnn.com)
28 min ago

Hamas trained for its deadly attack in plain sight and less than a mile from Israel’s border​

The footage is from the last two years, but it is chillingly prescient.

In a December 2022 video, Hamas fighters can be seen flooding a training area, shooting rockets and capturing pretend prisoners as they surround mock Israeli buildings.

The camp, CNN analysis shows, had just been constructed, and was very close to Erez Crossing, the pedestrian passageway between Gaza and Israel that Hamas fighters ultimately breached last weekend in a bloody attack — which killed over 1,200 people in Israel.

Another video taken more than a year ago, shows Hamas fighters practicing take-offs, landings and assaults with paragliders — the same unusual mode that Hamas deployed with lethal effect in the same October 7 attack.

A CNN investigation analyzed almost two years of training and propaganda video released by Hamas and its affiliates to reveal the months of preparations that went into last week’s attack, finding that militants trained for the onslaught in at least six sites across Gaza.

Two of those sites, including the arid training site shown in the December video, were a little more than a mile from the most fortified and patrolled section of the Gaza-Israel border. Of the remaining sites: one is located in central Gaza, and the other three in far south Gaza.

Two years of satellite imagery, also reviewed by CNN, show no indication of an offensive Israeli military action against any of the six identified sites.

Not only was there activity in the last several months at the camps, but some camps also absorbed surrounding farmland, converting it from agriculture to barren area for training in the last two years, according to satellite imagery.

[...]

Read more about Hamas' training that led up to the October 7 attack.

I am astounded at this security breach; & up until the attack, I assumed Israel had some of the best defense capability around ?
Not trying to blame, just amazed -- and not in a good way.
What in the world went wrong ??
This is tragic.

So many nations seem to hold enmity towards this nation ?
One would think they'd always be on the alert !
Omo.

 

[Chimera]

At a Popeye's??

jmo

Very sad to see mindless anger on display; do they understand what they're supporting ?
Yes I get it about free speech and such, but if the police have to step in, or they're damaging property or harassing anyone -- that's not right.

Otoh; maybe they were wanting to grab a bite to eat after their demonstration ?
Sorry I needed a bit of levity today.
Omo.

 

[PommyMommy]

Live updates: Israel-Hamas war rages as Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises from attacks (cnn.com)
7 min ago

Here's the areas impacted by Israel-Hamas fighting​

Horrors of Hamas' attack on border communities are emerging, with children found "butchered" in a kibbutz, the Israeli military said, and at least 1,200 people killed in Israel.

Meanwhile, Israel is hammering Gaza with airstrikes, hitting hundreds of targets, reducing neighborhoods to rubble and killing more than 1,500 people, according to Palestinian officials.

Here are the areas impacted by the fighting:

 

[otto]

Israel has warned civilians to clear out of a specific area in the next 24 hours. Hamas has told those same civilians the Israeli warning is fake. The UN is telling everyone that 24 hours is not enough time to clear out of the area. Why isn't the UN providing information about safe routes, confirming that the warning is real, or doing something more useful than saying it's not possible? Without 3rd party confirmation, such as the UN, those civilians might believe Hamas and think the warning is fake?

 

[PommyMommy]

Live updates: Israel-Hamas war rages as Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises from attacks (cnn.com)
4 min ago

It's morning in Israel and Gaza. Here's what you need to know​

The UN says an Israeli military order to evacuate the entire 1.1 million population of northern Gaza to the south of the besieged enclave is "impossible" without causing major humanitarian consequences.

Israel has amassed more than 300,000 reservists along its southern border with Gaza but has not confirmed whether it is planning for an intensified military operation.

Gaza's humanitarian crisis is deepening with warnings people are at risk of starvation as Israel maintains its bombardment in response to Hamas terror attacks that killed more than 1,200 people, including at least 27 Americans.

More than 1,500 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The airstrikes have also displaced 338,000 people, the UN said.

Here's what else you should know:

• Calls for aid: Hamas on Thursday appealed to international relief organizations to provide essential medical and relief supplies to Gaza as Israel continues airstrikes on the territory. Gaza's humanitarian crisis has deepened, with warnings from UN experts that the population is at risk of starvation and fuel could run out within hours. Israel is withholding essential supplies from the enclave in response to Hamas' brutal terror attacks, CNN previously reported.
• International reaction: Russia's Foreign Ministry on Thursday called Israel's missile strikes on Syria "a gross violation" of international law. Russia's deputy foreign minister and Middle East envoy Mikhail Bogdanov called for the "immediate cessation of hostilities" and the resumption of food and medicine deliveries to Gaza, the ministry said in a statement. The United Kingdom will send a "significant support package" to deter attempts to further escalate the conflict between Israel and Hamas, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• US diplomacy: Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Amman, Jordan, early Friday local time ahead of a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Jordanian King Abdullah II. Speaking alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday, Blinken vowed US support for Israel and likened Hamas’ crimes to ISIS.
• Crisis deepens: More than 338,000 Palestinians have been displaced by the conflict between Israel and Hamas, said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general. Nearly 218,000 of those are sheltering in 92 schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency, he said.
• On the ground footage: South First Responders in Israel said on Thursday it obtained footage from cameras found on the bodies of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants that shows the Saturday morning assault on the Israeli kibbutz Kfar Aza. CNN geolocated the footage to the kibbutz. In one of the videos, militants wearing bulletproof vests and wielding rifles can be seen walking through the community and yelling as gunshots are heard in the background.
• Victim stories: A woman whose mother survived the Holocaust spoke to CNN about her missing grandchildren. A woman told CNN of her losses as a result of the conflict, including her mother, three young children as well as their parents. And young Israelis around the world are returning to Israel following the attacks to join the war.

 

[Momoffourboys]

EXCLUSIVE: Operational update by IDF Spokesperson @jconricus
as the war against Hamas continues.

https://x.com/IDF/status/1712684887105249284?s=20

 

[SouthAussie]

Israel has warned civilians to clear out of a specific area in the next 24 hours. Hamas has told those same civilians the Israeli warning is fake. The UN is telling everyone that 24 hours is not enough time to clear out of the area. Why isn't the UN providing information about safe routes, confirming that the warning is real, or doing something more useful than saying it's not possible? Without 3rd party confirmation, such as the UN, those civilians might believe Hamas and think the warning is fake?

I am not sure how the UN would communicate that to the people. Another leaflet drop over a war region? They have no electricity to get any news.

At this point in time, no-one can go in and round the people up and say "move, move now".

What a quandry. War is so UGLY!

 

[branmuffin]

1m ago
More now on that news, via Reuters:

Israel’s military informed the United Nations early on Friday that the 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza should relocate to the enclave’s south within the next 24 hours, a UN spokesman said, in what Palestinians fear could be a precursor to a planned Israeli ground offensive.

The Israeli military did not immediately provide comment on the warning, which came as Israel amassed tanks near the Gaza border and pounded the Palestinian enclave with air strikes following a deadly Hamas militant attack in Israel.

“The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement.

“The United Nations strongly appeals for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation,” he said.

Dujarric said the order by the Israeli military also applied to all U.N. staff and those sheltered in UN facilities, including schools, health centres and clinics.

Israel’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Israel-Hamas war live: Israeli military has told 1.1 million in Gaza to move further south in next 24 hours, UN says

UN spokesperson says such a movement would have ‘devastating humanitarian consequences’ as Israel prepares for a ground offensive; Palestinian death toll rises to 1,537, according to Gaza’s health ministry

www.theguardian.com

It's impossible to move that many people within a 24 hour timeframe. The streets are full of rubble, vehicles are twisted wreckage. The body count is going to be horrendous.

 

[PommyMommy]

Live updates: Israel-Hamas war rages as Palestinian death toll in Gaza rises from attacks (cnn.com)
3 min ago

UN seeks clarity from senior Israeli officials on order to vacate northern Gaza​

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sought clarity Thursday night from Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan after Israel issued an order to vacate northern Gaza within 24 hours, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN.

Israel gave the message to the UN team in Gaza just before midnight local time Thursday, which applied to approximately 1.1 million people, the UN said.

According to the source, Guterres, in at least two phone calls after, asked for clarity regarding how the order could be carried out after the UN said publicly it was "impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences."

In a statement after midnight, Ambassador Erdan called the UN's response "shameful" and accused the body of "preaching to Israel."

"For many years, the UN has turned a blind eye to the arming of Hamas and its use of the civilian population and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip as a hiding place for its weapons and murder," Erdan told CNN.

"Now, instead of standing by Israel, whose citizens were slaughtered by Hamas terrorists and who tries to minimize harm to those not involved, it preaches to Israel. It is better for the UN to focus now on returning the hostages, condemning Hamas, and supporting Israel's right to defend itself.”

Israel has amassed more than 300,000 reservists along its southern border with Gaza but has not confirmed whether it is planning for an intensified military operation.

 

[Momoffourboys]

IDF: The following is the IDF announcement sent to civilians of Gaza City

"The IDF calls for the evacuation of all civilians of Gaza City from their homes southwards for their own safety and protection and move to the area south of the Wadi Gaza, as shown on the map. The Hamas terrorist organization waged a war against the State of Israel and Gaza City is an area where military operations take place. This evacuation is for your own safety. You will be able to return to Gaza City only when another announcement permitting it is made. Do not approach the area of the security fence with the State of Israel. Hamas terrorists are hiding in Gaza City inside tunnels underneath houses and inside buildings populated with innocent Gazan civilians. Civilians of Gaza City, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families and distance yourself from Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields. In the following days, the IDF will continue to operate significantly in Gaza City and make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians.

https://x.com/IsraelWarRoom/status/1712683492390121941?s=20

 

[vls12345]

It's impossible to move that many people within a 24 hour timeframe. The streets are full of rubble, vehicles are twisted wreckage. The body count is going to be horrendous.

I agree. I've been in a mandatory hurricane evacuation where people had days to prepare & leave, the roads are ok, & officials are (supposedly) on top of things to facilitate the movement of people out of the area. It's a massive undertaking and it's slow. It took me over 13 hours to go a distance that would normally take 2 hours. And that's in a fairly organized evacuation.

An evacuation of northern Gaza in 24 hours (or less at this point) is not feasible.

That's not the UN lecturing the IDF. That's the UN stating reality.

Imo.

 

[otto]

I am not sure how the UN would communicate that to the people. Another leaflet drop over a war region? They have no electricity to get any news.

At this point in time, no-one can go in and round the people up and say "move, move now".

What a quandry. War is so UGLY!

If Hamas can tell the people of Gaza that the warning is not true, then the people of Gaza know there is a warning.

 

[otto]

It's impossible to move that many people within a 24 hour timeframe. The streets are full of rubble, vehicles are twisted wreckage. The body count is going to be horrendous.

Looks like a 2 hour walk ... unless I have the wrong river. I'm sure people can manage that in 24 hours.

Levant to Gaza

www.google.com

 

[Kaley Smith]

2m ago
The Associated Press has spoken to Palestinians at hospitals in Gaza. Here is what they are experiencing:

“It is not possible, under any circumstances, to continue this work,” said Mohammad Abu Selim, Shifa Hospital’s general director. “The patients are now on the streets. The wounded are on the streets. We cannot find a bed for them.”

With resources stretched thin, clinics understaffed and ambulances taking hours to get victims to medical care because airstrikes have ravaged the streets, some say it’s not worth the trip.

“We know that if a case is critical, they just won’t survive,” said Khalil Abu Yehiya, a 28-year-old teacher whose neighbour’s home was bombed in Thursday’s airstrikes on the Jabaliya refugee camp.

When more heavy bombardment hit the Shati refugee camp just north of Gaza City along the Mediterranean coast, a new wave of wounded streamed into the hospital complex — toddlers with bruises and bandages, men with makeshift tourniquets, young girls with blood caked on their faces. Because Shifa’s intensive care unit was full, some lay in the hospital corridors, pressed up against the walls to clear aisles for staff and stretchers.

“I’ve been to many places and seen horrors and shelling. Not this level of insanity,” said 36-year-old local photojournalist Attia Darwish as he watched the wounded pour into the hospital.

Israel-Hamas war live: Israeli military has told 1.1 million in Gaza to move further south in next 24 hours, UN says

UN spokesperson says such a movement would have ‘devastating humanitarian consequences’ as Israel prepares for a ground offensive; Palestinian death toll rises to 1,537, according to Gaza’s health ministry

www.theguardian.com

Yes, it is truly awful, but Israel is surrounded by countries who have willingly housed and supported terrorists whose goal is to wipe Jews off the face of the earth. After the atrocities against civilians over the weekend, Israel has had enough. They are fighting for their survival just as the Ukrainians are. Many innocent Palestinians will be caught in the crossfire. That's what happens in war. If I have to pick a side to support, it's not going to be the side that started it all.

 

[JennieM]

Where is Wadi Gaza?​

As we've reported, the Israeli military has told the UN that everyone living north of Wadi Gaza should relocate in the next 24 hours - the UN says this amounts to about 1.1 million people.

The Wadi Gaza is a river valley located around the centre of the Gaza Strip, snaking across its entire width and ending in the Mediterranean Sea. It is known for its coastal wetlands and biodiversity.

This close-up of a UN map, where Wadi Gaza is represented by a brown dotted line at the bottom, shows that the area affected by Israel's evacuation order includes Gaza City, the enclave's largest city.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67096916

 

[JennieM]

Looks like a 2 hour walk ... unless I have the wrong river. I'm sure people can manage that in 24 hours.

Levant to Gaza

www.google.com

Thousands are seriously injured. I doubt they can get far. Are there any hospitals in north Gaza? What will happen to their patients?

 

[otto]

Where is Wadi Gaza?​

As we've reported, the Israeli military has told the UN that everyone living north of Wadi Gaza should relocate in the next 24 hours - the UN says this amounts to about 1.1 million people.

The Wadi Gaza is a river valley located around the centre of the Gaza Strip, snaking across its entire width and ending in the Mediterranean Sea. It is known for its coastal wetlands and biodiversity.

This close-up of a UN map, where Wadi Gaza is represented by a brown dotted line at the bottom, shows that the area affected by Israel's evacuation order includes Gaza City, the enclave's largest city.


View attachment 453052

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67096916

So why is the UN claiming that people cannot walk for 2 hours during the next 24 hours to ensure their own safety?

Israel knows where Hamas are hiding, and where they have their tunnels. People of Gaza must know that too. They have fair warning that Israel is going to do whatever they have to do in order to destroy Hamas and locate the hostages. Is the UN making excuses because they think they can delay the Israeli response? I don't understand why this reportedly (upthread) predominantly young, healthy population is suddenly unable to clear out?

Why don't they use their paragliders and get there in less than 2 hours?

 

[vls12345]

Looks like a 2 hour walk ... unless I have the wrong river. I'm sure people can manage that in 24 hours.

Levant to Gaza

www.google.com

Unless you haven't eaten well in days or haven't had water lately or are injured or are slowed because you are caring for an elder or younger who moves more slowly or you're disabled or you have asthma, etc. (I think back to a year ago when I was care-taking for my cancer-stricken mother. She couldn't walk. She was in so much pain that movement hurt. So something like a wheelchair over a few miles would be out of the question. Would you abandon your parent or stay by their side in this situation?)

Not sure how even hordes of people walking would work through a bombed out area. Will it be 20k walking? 50k? 500K?

Hypothetical musings on my part. But walking is not easy for everyone.

War may have winners but there are many who lose (on every side of the fight).

Imo.