According to the evacuation call issued by the Israeli army, hundreds of thousands of Gaza Strip residents have made their way south. “We realize this will take some time,” Army spokesman Richard Hecht said today.
Hamas is also trying to stop civilians. The Israeli army had previously assured residents of the northern Gaza Strip of an escape period and route without attacks.
Ground attack expected
Observers assume that the Israeli army asked more than a million Palestinians in the northern coastal Strip to evacuate to the southern Gaza Strip due to the imminent ground attack.
The Israeli army indicated that Gaza City would be the focus of its operations because this is where the Hamas leadership is based. Hamas, in turn, rejected Israeli calls for evacuation and called on people not to leave their homes in Gaza.
Since the unprecedented massacre of Israeli civilians by terrorists on behalf of Hamas in border towns and at a music festival, the Israeli military has carried out large-scale air strikes on targets in the densely populated coastal enclave.
US citizens in the Gaza Strip should proceed to Rafah
On the other hand, the United States calls on its citizens in the Gaza Strip to go to the Rafah border crossing to the south. The US State Department said they should be prepared to travel to Egypt there. It is possible that the Rafah border crossing will be opened to foreigners within a very short notice and for a limited period only. It is possible that such an opening will only be announced on a limited scale.
At the same time, the US State Department announced that due to the unexpected security situation, non-essential staff from the US Embassy and its branch in Tel Aviv are allowed to leave Israel. This also applies to family members of embassy employees.
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