Israel has ordered the evacuation of some 1.1 million people in northern Gaza as the latest Israel-Hamas war entered its seventh day, the United Nations said Friday. The order could signal an impending ground offensive, though the military said Thursday that while it was preparing, a decision had not yet been made.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.A visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, along with shipments of U.S. weapons, offered a powerful green light to Israel to drive ahead with its retaliation in Gaza after Hamas’ deadly attack on civilians and soldiers, even as international aid groups warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis. Israel has halted deliveries of basic necessities and electricity to Gaza’s 2.3 million people and prevented entry of supplies from Egypt.“Not a single electricity switch will be flipped on, not a single faucet will be turned on and not a single fuel truck will enter until the Israeli hostages are returned home,” Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said on social media.Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman, told reporters Thursday that forces “are preparing for a ground maneuver” should political leaders order one.A ground offensive in Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas and where the population is densely packed into a sliver of land only 25 miles long, would likely bring even higher casualties on both sides in brutal house-to-house fighting.Hamas’ assault Saturday and smaller attacks since have killed more than 1,300 people in Israel, including 247 soldiers — a toll unseen in Israel for decades — and the ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed more than 1,530 people in Gaza, according to authorities on both sides. Israel says roughly 1,500 Hamas militants were killed inside Israel, and that hundreds of the dead in Gaza are Hamas members. Thousands have been wounded on both sides.Here are some key takeaways from the war:Will Israel launch a ground assault?Israel has ordered the evacuation of 1.1 million people in northern Gaza, and directed hundreds of thousands in Gaza City to flee deeper south. The evacuations could signal an impending ground offensive, though the military said Thursday that while it was preparing, a decision had not yet been made.The military has invested tremendous resources for such a scenario, even building a training base in its southern desert meant to replicate Gaza’s urban landscape.A ground offensive would send a strong message, and forces operating inside Gaza might have a better chance of killing top Hamas leaders and rescuing hostages.Video below: Blinken says he met with families of Americans killed, held hostage by HamasSuch an assault all but guarantees far higher casualties on both sides. And it would involve street-by-street battles with Hamas militants who’ve had years to prepare tunnels and traps.Israel’s government is under intense pressure from the public to topple Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007. Israel has called up 360,000 army reservists and threatened an unprecedented response to Hamas’ wide-ranging incursion that began Oct. 7.The Israeli military said more than 1,300 people, including 222 soldiers, have been killed in Israel — a staggering toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria that lasted weeks.What is the situation in Gaza?People in Gaza woke to chaos Friday under evacuation orders from Israel for northern Gaza, including Gaza City. Before the evacuation directives, 423,000 Gaza Strip residents had already fled their homes, according to the United Nations.“This is chaos, no one understands what to do,” said Inas Hamdan, an officer at the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency in Gaza City while she grabbed whatever she could throw into her bags amid the panicked shouts of her relatives. She said all the U.N. staff in Gaza City and northern Gaza had been told to evacuate south to Rafah.Gaza is only 25 miles long, wedged among Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.Palestinians were in near-total darkness overnight after the only power station ran out of fuel and shut down. Hospitals’ supplies of medicine and fuel for emergency generators are also expected to run out within days. The morgue at Gaza’s biggest hospital overflowed Thursday as bodies came in faster than relatives could claim them on the sixth day of Israel’s heavy aerial bombardment. Gaza reported over 1,500 dead and some 6,600 injured.Internet connectivity in Gaza City has been below 20% since Tuesday, according to analyst Doug Madory of the network monitoring firm Kentik Inc., whose data show outages began Saturday morning. Madory said an internet provider in Gaza told him that Israeli air strikes had cut fiber optic cables. What are the chances that the war will spread? Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian said Thursday that if Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continues, the war may open on “other fronts,” an apparent reference to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.Israel is nervously watching Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border and has sent troop reinforcements to the area.Qassim Qassir, a Lebanese analyst close to Hezbollah, said the group “will not allow Hamas’ destruction and won’t leave Gaza alone to face a ground incursion.”“When the situation requires further escalation, then Hezbollah will do so,” he told The Associated Press. With an eye toward Hezbollah, U.S. President Joe Biden has warned other players in the Middle East not to join the conflict.Israel is anxious that opening a new front could change the tide of the war, with Hezbollah’s military caliber far superior to that of Hamas. But the fighting could be equally devastating for Hezbollah and Lebanon.Hezbollah and Israel were engaged in a vicious monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a stalemate and a tense detente between the two sides. Lebanon is in the fourth year of an economic crisis and is bitterly divided between Hezbollah and its allies and opponents, grinding the political system to a standstill. What has been the response from the U.S. and other nations? U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that “you may be strong enough on your own to defend yourselves, but as long as America exists you will never have to. … We will always be there by your side.”However, the U.S. has no plans to send troops to Israel, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday.Video below: Biden speaks on Wednesday about Israel-Hamas warBritain’s government says it is deploying two Royal Navy ships to the eastern Mediterranean within days to show support for Israel, offer “deterrence and assurance,” and support humanitarian efforts. The U.K. Royal Air Force surveillance planes will also begin patrols Friday to help “track threats to regional security, such as the transfer of weapons to terrorist groups.”Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir slammed Israel’s “outrageous acts of cruelty” in cutting off food, water and fuel to the Gaza Strip and said Malaysia will provide an emergency fund to help Palestinians. Egypt has engaged with intensive talks with Israel and the United States to allow the delivery of aid and fuel through its Rafah crossing point. However, it pushed back against proposals to establish escape corridors out of Gaza, saying an an exodus of Palestinians from the enclave would have grave consequences on the Palestinian cause.Meanwhile, in Syria on Thursday, state media reported that Israeli airstrikes hit the international airports of the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo, damaging their runways and putting them out of service.What is the status of foreign citizens in Israel? Dozens of citizens of other countries, who were in Israel for reasons ranging from raves to agricultural work, were killed or abducted in Saturday’s attack.Video below: Former soldier who has family in Israel shares their experiencesThe number of U.S. citizens confirmed to have been killed in the latest Israel-Hamas war has risen to at least 27, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday, and at least 14 more Americans remain unaccounted for.China, Brazil, Estonia, France, Nepal and Turkey have all reported citizens dead or missing.What prompted Hamas’ attack on Israel? Hamas, which seeks Israel’s destruction, says it is defending Palestinians’ right to freedom and self-determination. But the devastation following Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7 has sharpened questions about its strategy and objectives. Video below: White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Israel-Hamas warDesperation has grown among Palestinians, many of whom see nothing to lose under unending Israeli control and increasing settlements in the West Bank, a 16-year-long blockade in Gaza and what they see as the world’s apathy.In addition to citing long-simmering tensions, Hamas officials cite a long-running dispute over the sensitive Al-Aqsa Mosque that is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. Competing claims over the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, have spilled into violence before, including a bloody 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2021. ___Associated Press Writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Sam Magdy in Cairo, Joseph Krauss and Wafaa Shurafa contributed to this report.
Israel has ordered the evacuation of some 1.1 million people in northern Gaza as the latest Israel-Hamas war entered its seventh day, the United Nations said Friday. The order could signal an impending ground offensive, though the military said Thursday that while it was preparing, a decision had not yet been made.
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.
A visit by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, along with shipments of U.S. weapons, offered a powerful green light to Israel to drive ahead with its retaliation in Gaza after Hamas’ deadly attack on civilians and soldiers, even as international aid groups warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis. Israel has halted deliveries of basic necessities and electricity to Gaza’s 2.3 million people and prevented entry of supplies from Egypt.
“Not a single electricity switch will be flipped on, not a single faucet will be turned on and not a single fuel truck will enter until the Israeli hostages are returned home,” Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said on social media.
Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman, told reporters Thursday that forces “are preparing for a ground maneuver” should political leaders order one.
A ground offensive in Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas and where the population is densely packed into a sliver of land only 25 miles long, would likely bring even higher casualties on both sides in brutal house-to-house fighting.
Hamas’ assault Saturday and smaller attacks since have killed more than 1,300 people in Israel, including 247 soldiers — a toll unseen in Israel for decades — and the ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed more than 1,530 people in Gaza, according to authorities on both sides. Israel says roughly 1,500 Hamas militants were killed inside Israel, and that hundreds of the dead in Gaza are Hamas members. Thousands have been wounded on both sides.
Here are some key takeaways from the war:
Will Israel launch a ground assault?
Israel has ordered the evacuation of 1.1 million people in northern Gaza, and directed hundreds of thousands in Gaza City to flee deeper south. The evacuations could signal an impending ground offensive, though the military said Thursday that while it was preparing, a decision had not yet been made.
The military has invested tremendous resources for such a scenario, even building a training base in its southern desert meant to replicate Gaza’s urban landscape.
A ground offensive would send a strong message, and forces operating inside Gaza might have a better chance of killing top Hamas leaders and rescuing hostages.
Video below: Blinken says he met with families of Americans killed, held hostage by Hamas
Such an assault all but guarantees far higher casualties on both sides. And it would involve street-by-street battles with Hamas militants who’ve had years to prepare tunnels and traps.
Israel’s government is under intense pressure from the public to topple Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007. Israel has called up 360,000 army reservists and threatened an unprecedented response to Hamas’ wide-ranging incursion that began Oct. 7.
The Israeli military said more than 1,300 people, including 222 soldiers, have been killed in Israel — a staggering toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria that lasted weeks.
What is the situation in Gaza?
People in Gaza woke to chaos Friday under evacuation orders from Israel for northern Gaza, including Gaza City. Before the evacuation directives, 423,000 Gaza Strip residents had already fled their homes, according to the United Nations.
“This is chaos, no one understands what to do,” said Inas Hamdan, an officer at the U.N. Palestinian refugee agency in Gaza City while she grabbed whatever she could throw into her bags amid the panicked shouts of her relatives. She said all the U.N. staff in Gaza City and northern Gaza had been told to evacuate south to Rafah.
Gaza is only 25 miles long, wedged among Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.
Palestinians were in near-total darkness overnight after the only power station ran out of fuel and shut down. Hospitals’ supplies of medicine and fuel for emergency generators are also expected to run out within days.
The morgue at Gaza’s biggest hospital overflowed Thursday as bodies came in faster than relatives could claim them on the sixth day of Israel’s heavy aerial bombardment. Gaza reported over 1,500 dead and some 6,600 injured.
Internet connectivity in Gaza City has been below 20% since Tuesday, according to analyst Doug Madory of the network monitoring firm Kentik Inc., whose data show outages began Saturday morning. Madory said an internet provider in Gaza told him that Israeli air strikes had cut fiber optic cables.
What are the chances that the war will spread?
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian said Thursday that if Israel’s bombardment of Gaza continues, the war may open on “other fronts,” an apparent reference to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
Israel is nervously watching Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border and has sent troop reinforcements to the area.
Qassim Qassir, a Lebanese analyst close to Hezbollah, said the group “will not allow Hamas’ destruction and won’t leave Gaza alone to face a ground incursion.”
“When the situation requires further escalation, then Hezbollah will do so,” he told The Associated Press.
With an eye toward Hezbollah, U.S. President Joe Biden has warned other players in the Middle East not to join the conflict.
Israel is anxious that opening a new front could change the tide of the war, with Hezbollah’s military caliber far superior to that of Hamas. But the fighting could be equally devastating for Hezbollah and Lebanon.
Hezbollah and Israel were engaged in a vicious monthlong war in 2006 that ended in a stalemate and a tense detente between the two sides. Lebanon is in the fourth year of an economic crisis and is bitterly divided between Hezbollah and its allies and opponents, grinding the political system to a standstill.
What has been the response from the U.S. and other nations?
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that “you may be strong enough on your own to defend yourselves, but as long as America exists you will never have to. … We will always be there by your side.”
However, the U.S. has no plans to send troops to Israel, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday.
Video below: Biden speaks on Wednesday about Israel-Hamas war
Britain’s government says it is deploying two Royal Navy ships to the eastern Mediterranean within days to show support for Israel, offer “deterrence and assurance,” and support humanitarian efforts. The U.K. Royal Air Force surveillance planes will also begin patrols Friday to help “track threats to regional security, such as the transfer of weapons to terrorist groups.”
Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir slammed Israel’s “outrageous acts of cruelty” in cutting off food, water and fuel to the Gaza Strip and said Malaysia will provide an emergency fund to help Palestinians.
Egypt has engaged with intensive talks with Israel and the United States to allow the delivery of aid and fuel through its Rafah crossing point. However, it pushed back against proposals to establish escape corridors out of Gaza, saying an an exodus of Palestinians from the enclave would have grave consequences on the Palestinian cause.
Meanwhile, in Syria on Thursday, state media reported that Israeli airstrikes hit the international airports of the capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo, damaging their runways and putting them out of service.
What is the status of foreign citizens in Israel?
Dozens of citizens of other countries, who were in Israel for reasons ranging from raves to agricultural work, were killed or abducted in Saturday’s attack.
Video below: Former soldier who has family in Israel shares their experiences
The number of U.S. citizens confirmed to have been killed in the latest Israel-Hamas war has risen to at least 27, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday, and at least 14 more Americans remain unaccounted for.
China, Brazil, Estonia, France, Nepal and Turkey have all reported citizens dead or missing.
What prompted Hamas’ attack on Israel?
Hamas, which seeks Israel’s destruction, says it is defending Palestinians’ right to freedom and self-determination. But the devastation following Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7 has sharpened questions about its strategy and objectives.
Video below: White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Israel-Hamas war
Desperation has grown among Palestinians, many of whom see nothing to lose under unending Israeli control and increasing settlements in the West Bank, a 16-year-long blockade in Gaza and what they see as the world’s apathy.
In addition to citing long-simmering tensions, Hamas officials cite a long-running dispute over the sensitive Al-Aqsa Mosque that is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. Competing claims over the site, known to Jews as the Temple Mount, have spilled into violence before, including a bloody 11-day war between Israel and Hamas in 2021.
___
Associated Press Writers Matthew Lee in Washington and Sam Magdy in Cairo, Joseph Krauss and Wafaa Shurafa contributed to this report.
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