Israel calls for civilians to leave Gaza City as military amasses tanks

[October 13, 2023]  By Henriette Chacar, Michelle Nichols and Humeyra Pamuk

JERUSALEM/NEW YORK/TEL AVIV (Reuters) - Israel's military on Friday called for all civilians of Gaza City, more than 1 million people, to relocate south within 24 hours, as it amassed tanks for an expected ground invasion in response to a devastating attack by the militant group Hamas.

The United Nations said evacuating everyone was impossible with power supplies cut and food and water in the Palestinian enclave running short after a week of retaliatory air strikes and a full Israeli blockade.

Top U.S. officials headed for urgent talks in Israel and beyond amid fears the conflict could spread, with Iran warning of a response from its allies, which include Hamas and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Pro-Palestinian protests were planned around the world and in some places, Jewish communities feared they could be targeted after the unprecedented weekend attacks by Hamas inside Israel that killed more than 1,300 people, mostly civilians.

"We are ready to join the fight and rid the Palestinians of the Israeli atrocities," said Muntadhar Kareem, 25, a teacher among thousands of Iraqis protesting in Baghdad.

The Israeli military pledged to operate "significantly" in coming days, a day after Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said "Now is a time for war".

"Civilians of Gaza City, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families and distance yourself from Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields," the military said, accusing Hamas of hiding in and under civilian buildings.

A Hamas official urged citizens not to fall for what it called "fake propaganda" and there were few signs of civilians leaving on Friday morning.

The Palestinian envoy to Japan accused the Israelis of seeking to completely destroy Gaza, where more than 1,500 Palestinians have already been killed in retaliatory attacks.

Much of the population is descended from refugees who fled or were expelled from homes in Israel at its founding in 1948.

"Today Israel is repeating this before the eyes of the world," Gaza analyst Talal Okal told Reuters.

Israel says the horrific attack on its civilians means it must annihilate the militant group and others must get out of the way. Hamas tunnels, military compounds, senior operatives' residences and weapons storage warehouses were among 750 military targets struck overnight, it said.

The military wing of Hamas said the latest air strikes had killed 13 among scores of people it captured from Israel and that it had fired 150 rockets at Israel in response.

The United Nations said Israel's call for Gaza civilians to leave could not happen "without devastating humanitarian consequences", prompting a rebuke from Israel which said it should condemn Hamas and support Israel's right to self-defense.

A ground invasion of the narrow and densely populated Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million people, poses serious risk, with Hamas threatening to kill its hostages.

Hours after the Israeli evacuation call, there were no signs people were leaving Gaza City, where dozens gathered at the al-Shifa Hospital, vowing to stay put.

Palestinians in southern and central areas of the enclave, where people were expected to flee to, said air strikes had hit there overnight, with central parts also hit on Friday morning. There was no immediate comment from Israel.

The U.N. humanitarian office (OCHA) said more than 400,000 people had fled their homes in Gaza and 23 aid workers had been killed. "Mass displacement continues," it said.

The U.N. Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said it had moved its central operations centre and international staff to Gaza's south and urged Israel to spare its shelters.

Palestinians flee their homes amid Israeli strikes, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Gaza City, October 13, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

'RIDDLED WITH BULLETS'

Seeking to build support for its response, Israel's government showed U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO defence ministers graphic images of children and civilians they said Hamas had killed in a weekend rampage in Israel.

"It's simply depravity in the worst imaginable way," Blinken said, joining others in urging Israel to show restraint while also reiterating America's support, saying: "We will always be there by your side."

On Friday he was due to meet Jordan's King Abdullah and Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. He is also set to visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates - some with influence on Hamas, which is backed by Iran.

Iran's foreign minister met the head of the powerful Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nassrallah, in Lebanon, where there have been cross-border clashes with Israel since the weekend, Lebanese media outlets reported.

"The continuation of war crimes against Palestine and Gaza will receive a response from the rest of the axis," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said.

The foreign minister of Turkey, which has offered mediation, talked with his counterpart from the UAE, a Turkish foreign ministry source said, and will visit Egypt on Friday.

The U.S. military is placing no conditions on its security assistance to Israel, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, adding Washington expected it to "do the right things". Austin was due to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel on Friday.

SAFETY CONCERNS PROMPT SECURITY MEASURES

The United States and Japan were among countries offering charter flights for their citizens wanting to leave Israel while police in Paris used tear gas and water cannon to break up a banned rally in support of the Palestinians.

Some Jewish schools in Amsterdam and London were set to close temporarily due to safety concerns and police in New York and Los Angeles stepped up their presence around synagogues and Jewish community centers.

The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee advocacy group, said on Thursday that FBI agents had visited mosques and U.S. residents with Palestinian roots in a "troubling trend".

Gazans have suffered economic collapse and repeated Israeli bombardment under a blockade since Hamas seized power there 16 years ago.

Talks to create a Palestinian state collapsed a decade ago and Israel's right-wing government has cracked down in the West Bank and talked of seizing more land. Palestinian leaders say this left the population with no hope, strengthening extremists.

In 2021 the Israeli military wrongly said that its ground forces had begun a ground offensive inside Gaza before blaming a miscommunication for the announcement, which was reported by some international news media but not Reuters.

Israeli news media said it may have been part of a deception to trick Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters into giving away their locations.

(Reporting by Henriette Chacar, Dedi Hayun, Maayan Lubell, Emily Rose, James Mackenzie and Stephen Farrell in Jerusalem, Michelle Nichols in New York, Emma Farge in Geneva, Jeff Mason in Washington, Humeyra Pamuk in Tel Aviv, Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb in Los Angeles and Emma Farge in Geneva; Writing by Michael Martina, Michael Perry, Michael Georgy and Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Howard Goller, Diane Craft, Lincoln Feast and Nick Macfie)

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