Palestinians have cried out claiming that they had received renewed warnings from Israel’s military to move from north Gaza to the south of the strip, with the added warning that they could be identified as sympathisers with a ‘terrorist organisation’ if they stayed put.
According to eyewitnesses who spoke to reporters, he message was delivered in leaflets marked with the Israel Defence Forces name and logo from Saturday and sent to people via mobile phone audio messages across the Gaza Strip, a narrow territory that is just 45 km (28 miles) long.
‘Urgent warning, to residents of Gaza. Your presence north of Wadi Gaza puts your life in danger. Whoever chooses not to leave north Gaza to the south of Wadi Gaza might be identified as an accomplice in a terrorist organisation,’ the leaflet said.
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Africa Today News, New York recalls that Israel has pounded the territory with airstrikes since the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a deadly attack on Israeli soil on Oct. 7.
Israel has previously urged Palestinians to move south, although Palestinians said they had not previously been told they could be considered “terrorist” sympathisers if they did not.
They also say making the journey south remains highly risky amid airstrikes and say areas of the south have also been hit.
It has been two weeks since Hamas launched its assault on Israel, killing more than 1,400 people. Palestinian officials in Gaza said more than 4,600 have been killed since the war erupted.
Recall that Daniel Hagari who is a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), had on Saturday declared that the military will increase airstrikes on Gaza starting yesterday.
‘We’ll deepen our strikes, minimise the risks to our forces in the next stages of the war and we’re going to increase the attacks from today,’ he said at a news conference which was monitored by Africa Today News, New York.
Hagari appealed to residents of Gaza City ‘to continue moving south for their safety’.
The Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, Herzi Halevi, also told IDF commanders Saturday that the military is readying an operation to enter Gaza and take out Hamas.