Israel’s defense minister warned
that this is the ‘last chance’ for residents to flee, while threatening that
those who remain will be considered ‘terrorists’
The International Committee of
the Red Cross (ICRC) announced on 1 October that it has been forced to halt
operations due to escalating Israeli military operations in Gaza City.
The ICRC said in a statement that
it has halted operations due to the “intensification of military operations in
Gaza City,” adding that it will relocate its staff to offices in south Gaza to
“ensure staff safety and operational continuity.”
The Palestine Red Crescent
Society and civil defense in Gaza have been working “relentlessly to provide
relief,” the ICRC added, warning that their movement and ability to safely
reach civilians have been “severely constrained.”
“The ICRC will continue to strive
to provide support to civilians in Gaza City, whenever circumstances allow,
from our offices in Deir al-Balah and Rafah, which remain fully operational.
This includes providing medical donations to the few remaining health
facilities in Gaza City and doing the utmost to facilitate the movements of
first responders,” it went on to say.
“The ICRC has been in Gaza City
for decades. Following the latest intensification of hostilities, ICRC teams
stayed as long as they possibly could to protect and support the most
vulnerable people. The ICRC remains committed to returning as soon as conditions
allow.”
It demanded immediate and
uninterrupted aid flow into Gaza, and that the civil defense teams “be
respected and protected.”
The announcement comes days after
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said it was forced to halt operations in Gaza
City due to Israel’s new campaign.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel
Katz said on Wednesday that Gaza City has been almost totally encircled.
Katz announced that the army is
currently seizing the western part of the Netzarim Corridor – south of Gaza
City and up to the coast, resulting in “bisecting Gaza between its north and
south.”
“This will tighten the
encirclement around Gaza City and everyone leaving it to the south will be
forced to pass through IDF checkpoints,” he added.
The defense minister warned that
the coastal Al-Rashid Road will be closed for northbound movement to Gaza City.
“This is the last opportunity for Gaza residents who wish to do so to move
south and leave Hamas terrorists isolated in Gaza City, in the face of IDF
activity that continues with full force.”
Anyone remaining in Gaza City
will be considered “terrorists and supporters of terror,” Katz added.
“The IDF is preparing for all
possibilities and is determined to continue its operations, until the return of
all the hostages and the disarmament of Hamas, en route to ending the war,” he
concluded.
The Israeli army said over the
weekend that 780,000 Palestinians have fled the city due to forced displacement
orders.
Roughly 16,500 people fled on
Friday alone. However, according to the UN, hundreds of thousands remain there.
Last week, Hamas said 900,000
people were in the city. It said tens of thousands were displaced, but that
thousands of others returned to their homes from the south and were either
unable or unwilling to leave.
Over 50 people have been killed
by Israeli airstrikes across Gaza in the last 24 hours. Israeli jets and tanks
pounded residential neighborhoods throughout the night, residents in Gaza City
told Reuters.
A strike on the old city in
northwestern Gaza City killed seven people on Wednesday. Six other people
sheltering in a school in another part of Gaza City were killed in a separate
Israeli strike.
Israel’s escalation comes as Tel
Aviv is waiting for Hamas’s response to the new 20-point plan announced by the
US.
The plan calls for an immediate
halt to the fighting in Gaza and the release of all Israeli captives, dead and
alive, within 72 hours.
In response, Israel will free 250
prisoners serving life sentences, along with 1,700 Palestinians from Gaza
detained after 7 October.
It also envisions an Israeli
withdrawal toward the perimeters of Gaza, which Tel Aviv has rejected.
“No way, that’s not happening,”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on 30 September, in reference to
withdrawal from Gaza. “If Hamas refuses [the proposal], [US President Donald]
Trump will give Israel full backing to complete the military operation and
eliminate them,” the Israeli prime minister went on to say.
Trump said on the same day that
Hamas has three to four days to respond.
Palestinian
officials have condemned the plan as a 'trap' that leaves the door open for
Israel to continue its genocide
In
August, Chancellor Merz issued a ban on weapons exports to Israel that could be
used in Gaza
Sanaa
said this was the ‘first installment’ of its response to recent US sanctions on
Yemen
Most
voters reject new aid to Israel, with more siding with Palestinians than
Israelis for the first time since 1998
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