While over one million Palestinians in northern Gaza faced an Israeli deadline on Saturday to evacuate south, the IDF announced a time period during which it will allow safe movement for Gazans, Reuters reported.
As the IDF prepares to move ahead with its plans to retaliate for last week’s Hamas rampage through southern Israel, the Israeli army’s Arabic language spokesperson Saturday announced on X, formerly Twitter, that it will allow safe movement for Gazans.
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The spokesperson said that Gazans fleeing to the south upon Israel’s orders would be provided with a safe passage on two main roads south in the territory between 10:00-16:00 but did not specify which main roads would be open.
Israel has pledged to eliminate Hamas following a recent attack that killed 1,300 Israelis and seized hostages.
Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip since Hamas´s attack on southern Israel one week ago have martyred at least 2,215 people, including 724 children, the Palestinian territory´s Hamas-controlled health ministry said Saturday.
Some 458 women were among those martyred, the ministry said. It added that 8,714 people have also been wounded, after an earlier statement said at least 324 people were martyred in the past 24 hours alone.
The Hamas-run Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, has been under a total siege and bombarded with unprecedented air strikes.
More than one million residents of northern Gaza on Friday received 24 hours’ notice from Israel to flee south before an expected ground offensive.
However, Hamas, which has vowed to fight to the last drop of blood, urged residents to stay.
As tens of thousands of Palestinians were estimated to have headed south from northern Gaza following the Israeli order, the United Nations (UN) and other organisations warned of a disaster if so many people were forced to flee, and said the siege should be lifted to let in aid.
