Israel’s ongoing conflict with Hamas is poised to enter a new phase, according to Israeli forces’ statements on Saturday. They issued a warning that the extensive airstrikes in Gaza over the past week may soon be succeeded by “significant ground operations.”
In preparation for an escalated response following the deadly attack on October 7 by the Islamist militant group Hamas, Israeli troops and military equipment have amassed at the Gaza border. Warplanes maintained their assault on Gaza over the weekend, prompting civilians to heed repeated evacuation directives from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and flee southward.
Multiple United Nations agencies have issued warnings, cautioning that conducting large-scale evacuations under such siege conditions is a recipe for disaster. They emphasize that the most vulnerable residents of Gaza, including the elderly and pregnant women, might face insurmountable challenges in terms of relocation.
Israel’s recent actions included severing the general population’s access to vital resources such as electricity, food, and water earlier this week. Medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders has reported cases of severe dehydration as a consequence.
Martin Griffiths, the head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, strongly criticized the directive to evacuate 1.1 million people from northern Gaza, asserting that it contradicts the principles of warfare and basic human compassion. He emphasized that roads and homes have been reduced to rubble, leaving the population with no safe haven to turn to. Hamas is poised
The IDF said Saturday it would allow people to move south “for their own safety” on specified streets of Gaza during a six-hour window, but it was unclear how widely the messaging was received on the ground, given the widespread electricity and internet blackout, or how safe passage would be.
Following an apparent explosion on Friday, extensive destruction could be seen on Salah Al-Deen street – a main route for evacuation – in videos authenticated by CNN. A number of bodies, including those of children, can be seen on on a flat-bed trailer that appears to have been used to carry people away from Gaza City.