Israel-Gaza War: A large number of Palestinians fled northern Gaza on Wednesday as Israel continued to pound the enclave with its intensified ground and air offensive, as reported by CNN. The people, including women, children, the elderly, and the disabled, travelled on foot through the enclave. Israel Defense Forces had opened the evacuation window for the fifth day in a row, and the number of people who fled south has risen each day.
On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed that IDF troops were at the “heart of Gaza City” and targeting Hamas infrastructure and commanders there, as per CNN.
Here Are Top Points:
- The people used Salah Eddin Street, one of the two north-south highways in Gaza, along an evacuation corridor opened by the IDF, to flee south.
- A teenage girl compared the mass movement to the “Nakba,” or catastrophe, as per CNN. Nakba is an Arabic term for the expulsion of Palestinians from their towns during the founding of Israel.
- Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, “Gaza is the biggest terror stronghold that mankind has ever built. This whole city is one big terror base. Underground, they have kilometres of tunnels connecting to hospitals and schools,” Gallant said. “We continue to dismantle this capability.”
- The UN has stated that at least 2,000 people fled south on Sunday, and the number rose to 15,000 on Tuesday.
- A man refusing to provide his name told CNN in southern Gaza that he and his neighbours had lived through “horrifying days.” He said that they were unable to escape the Israeli airstrikes and had left their home in northern Gaza and moved several times.
- According to CNN, people were seen carrying few possessions, and some sat on carts drawn by donkeys. On Tuesday, some people were seen carrying white flags and holding identity documents.
- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel would need to oversee the security of the Gaza Strip once the war is over to avoid attacks in the future. In an interview to ABC News, he said he thought Israel would “have the overall security responsibility” over the territory indefinitely.
- Responding to Netanyahu’s comments, the White House cautioned Israel on Tuesday against reoccupying the war-torn region, saying that US President Joe Biden has maintained that reoccupation by Israeli forces is “not the right thing to do”.