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

[JennieM]

2 min ago

Number of people displaced in Gaza rises to 423,000

The number of people forced from their homes by the airstrikes soared 25% in a day, reaching 423,000 out of a population of 2.3 million, the United Nations said Thursday. Most crowded into U.N.-run schools.

Families were cutting down to one meal a day, said Rami Swailem, a 34-year-old lecturer at al-Azhar University, who had 32 relatives sheltering in his home. Water stopped coming to the building two days ago, and they have rationed what’s left in a tank on the roof.

The death toll from Israeli strikes on Gaza rose to 1,537, with 6,612 people wounded, the Gaza-based Health Ministry said Thursday. Of those killed, 500 were under the age of 18, the ministry said.

Palestinians were reporting heavy Israeli airstrikes across the besieged Gaza Strip, with bombardment on residential buildings in densely populated city districts and refugee camps.

Live Updates | Current US assessment is Israel 'not responsible' for Gaza hospital blast, White House says

The statement did not mention fuel, and it was not clear when aid would start flowing.

apnews.com

 

[JennieM]

Excellent. So the people of Gaza City received the message to evacuate and some are listening!

My post refers to UN staff.

 

[JennieM]

1m ago

The UN and IDF statements on evacuating Gazans to the south​

Here is the full UN statement released before the IDF released the public statement below:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1712679693705416873

The IDF statement:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1712684337026449527

UN says tens of thousands have fled south in Gaza after Israel’s evacuation order – as it happened

More than 400,000 in Gaza were already internally displaced before Israel’s evacuation order, UN humanitarian office says

www.theguardian.com

 

[PommyMommy]

4min ago

750 sites in Gaza targeted in overnight airstrikes​

The Israel Defense Forces says it carried out airstrikes against some 750 targets belonging to Hamas and other terror groups in the Gaza Strip overnight.

Among the targets were 12 multi-story towers, which the IDF says contain Hamas assets.

The military says it also struck three Hamas operatives responsible for mortar fire on Israel in recent days.

The trio were targeted at a military command center in Gaza City, according to the IDF.

Other targets include tunnels, military compounds, residences of senior members used as military command centers, weapons storage warehouses, and communications rooms, the IDF says.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1712695436413145359

 

[Arkay]

9min ago

IDF trying to minimize harm to Gazan civilians, spokesman says​

After ordering residents of Gaza City to evacuate, IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari stresses that Israel does not want to harm Palestinian civilians.

“We are fighting a terror group, not the Gazan population. We want civilians not to be harmed, but we cannot live with the rule of Hamas-ISIS near our border,” Hagari says in a call with reporters.

He says the order to evacuate Palestinians from the area is intended to enable “freedom of action and to deepen the damage” against Hamas.

“Hamas carried out one of the most horrific acts the world has seen, we are carrying out an effort to evacuate residents to deepen the damage, to collapse this organization,” Hagari says.

After the UN says such an evacuation within 24 hours would be impossible, Hagari says “We understand it will take several days.”

“We are conveying [the warning] through communication channels and in Arabic, there are ways for the message to reach the population,” he adds. “Whoever does not listen to these recommendations, puts his family in danger.”

He says that in the past day, there had been a number of clashes between troops and terrorists along the Gaza border fence, but few incidents in Israeli territory.

The IDF believes it has located the vast majority of terrorists who infiltrated into Israel last weekend, and that no new terrorists have managed to infiltrate into the country in recent days.

Hagari also says the IDF is still focusing efforts to kill senior Hamas members.

This is one of the critical differences between a terrorist organization whose goal is the destruction of innocent people caught unaware, and a nation that is only attempting to dismantle the enemy who slaughtered their civilians.

Israel is doing all it can to warn civilians to leave, giving specific instructions as to where they intend to attack the enemy and giving advance notice to the civilians there. In Arabic, so the message is unambiguous.

The IDF spokesperson spent five minutes of his 8 minute message explaining to the civilians in Gaza that Israel doesn’t want to hurt them but WILL go after terrorists. Israel even tells them where—-Gaza City and the tunnels.

I‘ll tell you, terrorists do NOT give notice of where and when they will attack. Surprise is their friend.

My world would have been very different if Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaida had let me know they’d be attacking the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. I nearly lost my daughter that day.

@JennieM as already said, Egypt could give passage to their fellow religionists but they won’t. Frankly IMO that’s not Israel’s problem to solve.


If it were just me alone, I for damn sure would not be as charitable as Israel is being to the Palestinians who did NOT go into Israel and kill, but did cheer and rejoice at the murder and rape of the young and the old. When I read that Gazans say it’s chaos and they don’t know what to do, I wonder how many of them were concerned about the chaos in Israel, and how those people didn’t know what to do.



imo

 

[Herat]

Excellent. So the people of Gaza City received the message to evacuate and some are listenin

1m ago

The UN and IDF statements on evacuating Gazans to the south​

Here is the full UN statement released before the IDF released the public statement below:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1712679693705416873

The IDF statement:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1712684337026449527

UN says tens of thousands have fled south in Gaza after Israel’s evacuation order – as it happened

More than 400,000 in Gaza were already internally displaced before Israel’s evacuation order, UN humanitarian office says

www.theguardian.com

This is going to put immense pressure on the Rafah crossing into Egypt. The most humanitarian thing to do would be to take injured people across the border into Egypt, although they would still have several hours to travel into the Cairo area, which has the largest capacity for medical care in the area.

 

[JennieM]

Israel orders hundreds of thousands of civilians in Gaza City to evacuate ahead of possible ground assault​

Israel’s military directed the evacuation on Friday of all of the hundreds of thousands of civilians living in Gaza City ahead of a feared Israel ground offensive. The directive came on the heels of what the United Nations said was a warning they received from Israel to evacuate 1.1 million people living in the north of Gaza within 24 hours.

The Israeli military pulverized the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip with airstrikes and blocked deliveries of food, water, fuel and electricity ahead of a possible ground invasion as Palestinians tried to stock up on supplies.

International aid groups warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis after Israel prevented entry of supplies from Egypt to Gaza’s 2.3 million people. The Israel-Hamas war has claimed at least 2,800 lives on both sides since Hamas launched an unprecedented surprise attack on Oct. 7.

Live Updates | Current US assessment is Israel 'not responsible' for Gaza hospital blast, White House says

The statement did not mention fuel, and it was not clear when aid would start flowing.

apnews.com

 

[PommyMommy]

Israel Gaza live news: Israel wants 1.1 million Gazans to move in next 24 hours, says UN - BBC News
Posted at 22:3822:38

'Civilians are not our enemy' - Israeli military​

The early evacuation order is part of Israel's "humanitarian measures" in the Gaza Strip, says Israeli spokesperson Jonathan Conricus.

In his latest video update posted on X, formerly called Twitter, he said their aim was to save lives, adding: "Civilians are not our enemy."

He said the military wants to minimise civilian casualties as it strikes targets in the Gaza Strip, and that it remains fully committed to the laws of international armed conflict.

"We understand it will take time," he said about the evacuation. "It's not an easy process."

About 1.1 million people - half of the entire population of the Gaza Strip - are affected by the evacuation order.

 

[SouthAussie]

This is one of the critical differences between a terrorist organization whose goal is the destruction of innocent people caught unaware, and a nation that is only attempting to dismantle the enemy who slaughtered their civilians.

<RSBM>

I think Israel is using great restraint. They are trying to methodically squeeze Hamas, starting small, cutting off essential services and the like, and increasing the pressure. Now a raid on 750 Hamas-specific targets, and a looming threat of a potential ground attack.
They could have blown the entire place to smithereens by now.

I just wonder how it is going to end. Are they looking for Hamas to be physically eradicated? If so, how do they know when that has occurred? Are they looking for Hamas to surrender? Or are they just looking for Hamas to stop firing weapons?

 

[JennieM]

1m ago
Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza City, told the Associated Press there was no way more than one million people could be safely moved that fast.

“Forget about food, forget about electricity, forget about fuel. The only concern now is just if you’re make it, if you’re going to live,” Farsakh said, breaking into heaving sobs.

“What will happen to our patients?” she asked. “We have wounded, we have elderly, we have children who are in hospitals.”

Farsakh said many of the medics were refusing to evacuate hospitals and abandon patients. Instead, she said, they called their colleagues to say goodbye.

UN says tens of thousands have fled south in Gaza after Israel’s evacuation order – as it happened

More than 400,000 in Gaza were already internally displaced before Israel’s evacuation order, UN humanitarian office says

www.theguardian.com

 

[Danaya]

What do they expect Israel to do? Nothing? They forced their hand. So now Hamas will tell everybody to stay put and people will blame Israel for the mass casualties that are sure to come. I wonder if this was a part of their sick and twisted plan all along.

 

[JennieM]

5m ago

Civilians inside Gaza confused and terrified​

Ruth Michaelson

Turkey’s Anadolu news agency is already reporting that hundreds of thousands of people have begun moving towards the Al Shifa medical complex in Gaza City, following the news of the evacuation order.

Civilians inside Gaza are confused and terrified, with fears about being unable to flee from what would amount to the largest displacement in the decades, in a tiny enclave that is just 365 square kilometres in total. An estimated 1.1. million people in the northern part of the Gaza strip, which includes Gaza City and its outskirts.

The Al Shifa medical complex is Gaza’s largest, a nerve centre of Gaza city’s medical infrastructure that has often provided shelter for civilians in the city during attacks or in moments of crisis. Thousands were already sheltering there, and the hospital has sustained damage from nearby airstrikes.

Doctor Ghassan Abu-Sittah at Shifa hospital yesterday said “we are at breaking point. There are wounded patients in the corridors and no beds left. The nearby refugee camp was hit, and all hospitals are beyond, beyond capacity.”

UN says tens of thousands have fled south in Gaza after Israel’s evacuation order – as it happened

More than 400,000 in Gaza were already internally displaced before Israel’s evacuation order, UN humanitarian office says

www.theguardian.com

 

[Momoffourboys]

Israel's military estimates 2,500 terrorists entered Israel in Saturday’s invasion, 70% of them affiliated with Hamas - report

https://x.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1712717638084755887?s=20

What a disaster.

 

[Kaylison]

Snipped for focus -- Maybe they should have used the billions of dollars of aid to protect themselves, instead of brutally attacking their neighbors!

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

Palestinians have no safe place from Israel's bombs in Gaza​

With no air raid sirens or bomb shelters, the more than 2 million Palestinians living in the besieged territory — half of whom are children — rely on rare phone calls or text messages from the Israeli military to alert them of imminent strikes.

The lack of protection serves as a stark contrast to the civil defense systems of Israel, which has faced intense barrages of rocket fire from Hamas in recent days. Israel boasts elaborate and technologically advanced capabilities — ranging from early radar detection to the Iron Dome — meant to protect its civilians in the event of an attack.

Absolutely appalled by this victim-mentality from Gaza, and the worldwide antisemitism victim-blaming against Israel.

I'm sorry, at this point I struggle to see how the Gaza citizens aren't complicit in this. Even the children were stomping on mutilated corpses and celebrating.

I pray all the innocents and peaceful are protected and provided for, the hostages rescued, and terrorists obliterated.

 

[MassGuy]

The IDF is calling for the evacuation of all civilians of Gaza City from their homes southward for their own safety and protection.

Hamas is telling Gaza residents to ignore our safety instructions.

https://x.com/idf/status/1712726504423989389?s=46&t=1LeaTK_fug_ONwN11qOyUw

 

[Vern]

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?

8 Oct: They've also had well more than 24 hours. Israel (Netanyahu) first told civilian Palestinians that they should begin moving to the south towards Rafah on 8 October and that a ground response was imminent; it's not a secret that a ground response would be forthcoming.

10 Oct: Meanwhile, in the Gaza, we've got Hamas (who couldn't care one single el toro poopoo about Palestinian civilians) and their media machine putting out this:
On 10 October in response to Netanyahu:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1711905617613291530

It is now the 13th of October, but somehow it is Israel's fault that their warnings to move south have been #ignored for the past 5 days!!?? No. It is not Israel's fault. The Palestinian people need to rid themselves of Hamas as it is in their best interests to do so.

It should also be noted that Egypt doesn't want to open their border up ... as Hamas is a supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood and is why Egypt also blockades that Rafah border crossing. They don't want to chance more terrorists ending up on their soil either.

For those without Xitter who cannot see the post:

 

[IQuestion]

Am watching BBC Breaking NEWS...now.
Uk government to deploy Royal Navy ships and aircraft to support Israel.
EU's Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen in Israel on Friday

I shudder to think/imagine what is going to happen... a tragedy of epic proportion. I think terrorists must be brainwashed
or delusional. I remember the ruthless actions of terrorist who attacked Mumbai in 2008. Indiscrimate slaughter of innocents by radical zealots with guns. No words.

 

[MassGuy]

Hamas claims 13 hostages it is holding in the Gaza Strip were killed during the past day by Israeli airstrikes.

https://x.com/manniefabian/status/1712731398161764356?s=20

 

[Vern]

https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_219120.htm

NATO Defence Ministers wrapped up two days of meetings in Brussels on Thursday (12 October 2023), addressing the Alliance’s defence plans and operations, and meeting with their Israeli counterpart.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant briefed his NATO counterparts by videoconference on the atrocities perpetrated by Hamas against Israeli civilians. Condemning Hamas’ terrorist attacks, NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said: “Israel has the right to defend itself and as the conflict unfolds, the protection of civilians is essential”. He added that “no nation or organisation hostile to Israel should seek to take advantage of the situation, or to escalate the conflict.”

...

 

[Vern]

The son of one of the founders of Hamas, talking the truth at
@UNWatch
Listen and learn. He left Hamas years ago and fights them, by telling the world who they really are.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1712206238388212066