Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated tonight that this week’s strikes on the Gaza Strip, which have killed 1,900 people, are not «just the beginning» of the Israeli military’s response to the deadly Hamas attack on October 7.
«Our enemies have only just begun to pay the price. I cannot reveal what will happen next, but I can tell you that this is only the beginning,» Netanyahu said in his address. «We are fighting like lions for our home. We will never forgive or forget the barbaric acts of our enemies, and we will not let the world—or anyone—forget the horror experienced by the Jewish people,» he added. «We will ensure that this war continues thanks to the ammunition and weapons that are on their way to Israel,’ the Israeli prime minister continued.
The Israeli infantry carried out its first ground operations today in the Gaza Strip, which has been completely blockaded and bombed for days. Army spokesman Vice Admiral Daniel Hagari said that the soldiers, supported by tanks, launched attacks on Palestinian groups firing rockets into Israeli territory and, at the same time, sought information to locate the hostages held by Hamas.
Earlier today, Israel gave more than 1 million Palestinians living in the northern half of Gaza a 24-hour deadline to head south. Several thousand residents of Gaza City have headed south, but it is impossible to estimate their exact number. Many others said they do not intend to leave.
«Death is better than running away,» said 20-year-old Mohammad as he stood on a street in front of the rubble of a building that had been bombed earlier by the Israeli Air Force, near the center of Gaza City.
From the mosques, the message rang out: «Stay in your homes. Stay on your land.».
«We are telling the people of northern Gaza and the city of Gaza to stay in their homes,» said Eyad Al-Bozom, a spokesman for Hamas’s Interior Ministry, during a press conference.
According to Gaza authorities, 70 people were killed and 200 wounded when the Israeli army struck cars and trucks carrying people from the north of the enclave to the south. Reuters was unable to verify this information from other sources.
The United Nations, the WHO, many nongovernmental organizations, and countries, such as Saudi Arabia, have rejected the evacuation and warned that disaster is imminent if such a large number of people are forced to leave in such a short period of time. They also called for the siege of the enclave to be lifted to allow humanitarian aid to get through.
The situation in Gaza has reached a «dangerously low point,» warned UN Secretary-General António Guterres. «We urgently need humanitarian access to deliver fuel, food, and water to those in need. Even wars have rules,» he stressed.
White House spokesman John Kirby commented that such a massive evacuation is a «difficult undertaking,» but Washington does not question Israel’s decision to call on civilians to leave. «We understand what they’re trying to do and why—they’re trying to separate the civilian population from Hamas, which is their real target,» he told MSNBC.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier that the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza would be a second «Nakba,» a repeat of 1948, when hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee the territories that now make up Israel. Most of Gaza’s residents are descendants of those refugees.
At present, Gaza, one of the most densely populated areas on the planet, is under blockade and there is no way out. Israel has imposed a complete blockade, and Egypt, which borders the enclave, has refused to open the Rafah border crossing for fleeing civilians.
Meanwhile, in the West Bank, protesters exchanged fire with Israeli security forces, and Palestinian officials said 11 people were killed.
There are also fears that hostilities could spread to new fronts, such as Lebanon, where a Reuters cameraman was killed and six other journalists were wounded earlier today. Reuters reported that an Israeli shell struck a Lebanese Army outpost on the border, and the Israeli military claimed it opened fire in response to an incursion by armed, which was later found to have been caused by a false alarm.
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations promised to investigate what happened in that area that led to the journalist’s death. «We always try to avoid civilian casualties. Obviously, we would never want to injure or kill a journalist who is doing his job,” said Gilad Erdan.
