- IDF orders 6-hour Gaza evacuation amid ground offensive fears.
- 1 million+ warned in northern Gaza.
- Concerns raised over humanitarian impact.
Israel’s military has declared a six-hour period for Palestinians in Gaza to evacuate south along specified routes, as tens of thousands leave their homes following a stark evacuation order in anticipation of a potential Israeli ground offensive.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued a warning to over 1 million residents in northern Gaza on Friday as they amassed troops and military equipment at the border while continuing airstrikes in response to the October 7 attacks by Hamas, an Islamist militant group.
Even before the warning, more than 400,000 Palestinians had been displaced due to a week of fighting, worsening conditions within the heavily bombed territory.
However, the evacuation order and the potential incursion have faced strong criticism from human rights organizations, including the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), who cautioned that such actions could lead to “catastrophic humanitarian consequences.”
On Saturday, the IDF announced a six-hour window for people to move south on designated streets within Gaza from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time, as shared by the IDF’s Arabic spokesperson Avishay Adraee on social media.
The IDF asserted that Hamas leaders had taken precautions to shield themselves from strikes in the area.
Given the ongoing electricity and internet blackout, it remains uncertain how widely this information has been received on the ground.
When asked by reputed media outlet how the six-hour window was communicated to Gaza residents, IDF spokesperson Maj. Doron Spielman stated that “everybody in Gaza City now knows exactly what’s happening.”
“They’ve been notified in Arabic, in multiple languages on every available platform, both electronic and non-electronic platforms. Everyone in Gaza City knows that they need to go past Wadi Gaza.”
Spielman confirmed that the IDF had dropped leaflets to inform people in Gaza about the IDF’s announcement.
However, reputed media outlet spoke to a United Nations Relief and Works Agency school official, a paramedic, and a journalist on the ground, all of whom were unaware of this latest advisory on Saturday.
Meanwhile, reputed media outlet has located and verified five videos from the site of a significant explosion along one of the evacuation routes for civilians to the south of Gaza City.
The videos depict numerous casualties amid extensive destruction, including some bodies on a flat-bed trailer apparently used for transporting people away from Gaza City, including several children. Several vehicles are badly burned and damaged.
The cause of this widespread devastation is unclear, as the explosion took place on Salah al-Deen Street on Friday afternoon.
Reputed media outlet has reached out to the IDF for comments regarding any airstrikes in the same location.
Palestinian-Americans have been eagerly awaiting the opening of the Rafah border crossing into Egypt on Saturday. This anticipation follows the US State Department’s guidance to families on Friday, suggesting that it “may be open” on Saturday afternoon.
“They told everybody to be here at 12, it’s been two hours almost, nobody showed up, nobody is here to open the gates.” Haneen Okal, a New Jersey resident, waiting with her three children, said.
“People are waiting at the Rafah crossing point but it’s not open and there is no clear direction from the embassy,” said Mai Abushaaban, a 22-year-old from Houston who is in contact with her family at the border.
The Gaza Strip, covering an area of just 140 square miles, is home to more than 2 million Palestinians, with over a million of them being children.
It stands as one of the most densely populated regions on the planet.
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