Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said Palestinians would “remain in our land” even as one million Gaza residents were reported to have fled their homes since Israel began its bombardment.
The surprise Hamas attack on Oct 7 launched the region into a new crisis as furious Israeli leaders prepare to respond with crushing force.
“IDF (Israel Defense Forces) soldiers and battalions are deployed across the country and are increasing operational readiness for the next stages of the war, with an emphasis on significant ground operations,” the military said in a statement.
It added this would include air, sea and land assaults and cover an “expanded arena of combat,” without elaborating.
On Friday, the Israeli military told the population of the northern half of the Gaza Strip, which includes the enclave’s biggest settlement Gaza City, to move south immediately.
On Saturday, it said it would guarantee the safety of Palestinians fleeing on two main roads until 4.00pm (1300 GMT). As the deadline passed, troops were massing around Gaza.
Hamas has told people not to leave and says roads out are unsafe. It says dozens of people were killed in strikes on cars and trucks carrying refugees on Friday, which Reuters could not independently verify. Israel says Hamas is preventing people from leaving in order to use them as human shields, which Hamas denies.
In one Gaza City neighborhood that Israel ordered evacuated, bombs fired from warplanes hit several houses during the night, residents said.
“We lived a night of horror. Israel punished us for not wanting to leave our home. Is there brutality worse than this?” a father of three said by telephone from a hospital where he had taken shelter, declining to give his name for fear of reprisals.
“I prefer to die and not leave, but I can’t see my wife and children die before my eyes.”
The Palestinian Red Crescent said it had received an Israeli order to evacuate the hospital by 4.00pm, but would not do so because it had a humanitarian duty to keep providing services to the sick and wounded.
Source: CNA
