‘24hrs to leave’: UN issues new warning ahead of Israel ground assault
A new warning has been issued for 1.1 million Palestinians living in Gaza, as Israel’s forces prepare to storm the region. Follow the updates. Warning: Graphic
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The United Nations has revealed it has been told by the Israeli military that 1.1 million Palestinians in northern Gaza should relocate to the enclave‘s south “within the next 24 hours”.
“The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
“The United Nations strongly appeals for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation.”
However, a Hamas official has said the warning is “fake propaganda” and has urged Gazans “not to fall for it”, reports Reuters.
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It comes after disturbing images of dead babies and their charred remains have been released as Israel’s vengeance spread across the Middle East.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken was in shock at the beheaded bodies of soldiers and the bullet-riddled corpses of children as he visited Israel to offer “unconditional” military support.
Meanwhile, more than 1400 Palestinian people have been killed, including 450 children, and over 6200 wounded, including 1531 children.
It comes as Israel’s Defence Force bombed two airports in Syria to stop arms shipments headed to Hezbollah in a worrying spread of the conflict in the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed every member of Hamas was “a dead man” after the IDF admitted it failed to protect its citizens.
As Israeli tanks began rolling toward the border with Gaza, the United Kingdom entered the fray sending two warships and a spy plane to the region.
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The first of two Qantas mercy flights has left London bound for Tel Aviv to collect hundreds of stranded and desperate Australians looking to flee the conflict.
The 236-seater 787-9 Dreamliner had to be pulled from its normal commercial international route to Australia to make the trip to the Israeli capital, with three senior captains on board.
Qantas does not normally fly into Tel Aviv so it has also had to carry, as well as a full cabin crew, specialist ground crew to board the passengers, engineers and medical personnel.
The aircraft is carrying enough fuel to make the round trip to and from London without refuelling, about a five hour flight.
‘NEED TO EVACUATE’: IDF WARNS
Israeli military spokesman Jonathan Conricus confirmed that Israel had issued a warning to Palestinians in northern Gaza, saying they “need to evacuate” for their own safety.
“The Hamas terrorist organisation waged a war against the State of Israel, and Gaza City is an area where military operations are taking place,” Mr Conricus said, reading an IDF statement on an X, formerly Twitter, live video.
“This evacuation is for your own safety. You will be able to return to Gaza City only when another announcement permitting is made.
“Hamas terrorists are hiding in Gaza City, inside tunnels underneath houses and inside building populated with innocent Gaza civilians.
“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.”
He said the IDF would over the coming days “operate with significant force” and would make “extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians”.
EXCLUSIVE: Operational update by IDF Spokesperson @jconricus as the war against Hamas continues. https://t.co/MFAOiCSssH
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 13, 2023
ISRAELI AIR STRIKE KILLS 45 PALESTINIANS IN GAZA; DOZENS WOUNDED
The Israeli military bombarded a residential building in the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing at least 45 people and wounding dozens of others.
Interior ministry spokesperson Eyad Bozum said a late-afternoon bombing hit the centre of the Jabaliya camp.
The building was packed with dozens of people, some who fled earlier attacks, at the time of the air strike, he added.
The death toll is likely to rise as civil defence workers are still pulling bodies from the rubble and counting the dead.
PM CONFIRMS 19 AUSSIES STUCK IN GAZA
Nineteen Australians are stuck in Gaza and are pleading with the Albanese government to help them leave.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has announced three repatriation flights in conjunction with Qantas to help some of the more than 10,000 Australians in Israel, said the government was looking to help the registered to be in Gaza out of the conflict zone.
Israel declared war after Hamas – recognised by Australia as a terrorist organisation – launched a surprise operative on the weekend, murdering innocent Israelis in their homes and at music festivals, and taking about 100 people hostage.
Thousands of Israeli and Palestinian civilians have been killed.
The Palestinian territory has also been completely cut off after Israel announced it would not supply food, electricity, or medical supplies unless Hamas releases the hostages.
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DEATH TOLL RISES
Israel’s death toll rose to 1300, with the bodies of more victims being discovered from the weekend’s Hamas assault, and more than 3000 wounded.
Israeli reprisal strikes on blockaded Gaza has killed 1417 Palestinian people and wounded more than 6200, including 1531 children.
The IDF also collected 1500 bodies of militants who made their bloody rampage into Israel and were killed by troops.
Some of the Hamas militants were still being killed about kibbutz Zikim after hiding for several days amid fears more were still in Israel.
A shoot out erupted with a Hamas fighter hiding at the scene of the music festival massacre.
UK TO SEND MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is sending ships, aircraft and marines to the eastern Mediterranean in a show of military support for Israel.
Royal Navy patrol ships, spy planes and troops will travel to the region tomorrow to “track threats to regional stability”, Downing Street said.
A Royal Navy task group will be moved to the eastern Mediterranean next week as a contingency measure to support humanitarian efforts
There are believed to be around 60,000 British nationals in Israel and Gaza right now.
The prime minister said the government “must be unequivocal” in its support to ensure the ”horrific scenes” unfolding in Israel ”will not be repeated”.
“Alongside our allies, the deployment of our world-class military will support efforts to ensure regional stability and prevent further escalation,” Mr Sunak said.
BABIES BURNED BY HAMAS TERRORISTS
Israel has released images of babies killed and their bodies burned during the Hamas terror massacre.
The office of the Israeli Prime Minister publicly released images that they shared with visiting US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
It comes as a propaganda war against Israel’s counteroffensive is launched by designated terror group Hamas, which uses women, children and civilians as human shields against retaliatory strikes.
One picture showed a dead baby in a body bag while the other showed the charred remains of another infant.
“A baby — an infant — riddled with bullets. Soldiers beheaded, young people burnt alive in their cars,” said Blinken.
“For any human being to see this, it’s really beyond almost anything that we can comprehend and digest.
“Images are worth a thousand words. These images, maybe worth a million.
“The world is seeing new evidence of depravity and the inhumanity of Hamas — depravity and inhumanity directed at babies, at small children, at young adults, at elderly people, at people with disabilities.
“At a basic human level, how anyone cannot be revolted and cannot reject what they’ve seen — and what the world has seen — is beyond me,” Blinken said
ISRAEL ‘STRIKES SYRIA’ AS CONFLICT SPREADS
Israeli strikes knocked Syria’s two main airports out of service, according to Syrian state media.
In the first such attack since a Hamas terror attack launched from Gaza triggered fierce fighting, Israeli strikes have repeatedly caused the grounding of flights at the airports in the capital Damascus and northern city Aleppo.
Both airports are controlled by the government of war-torn Syria, with an anonymous military source telling state media the “simultaneous” strikes “damaged landing strips in the two airports, putting them out of service”.
Flights were re-routed through Latakia airport on the Mediterranean coast, according to Syria’s transport ministry.
Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, confirmed the strike on Damascus airport, saying it was intended to thwart “weapons deliveries from Iran”.
“These missiles, these drones are used against Israel,” he said in an interview with German broadcaster Die Welt.
‘NO CONDITIONS’ ON US MILITARY SUPPORT
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that Washington did not put any conditions on the way Israel can use the weapons it provides for fighting Hamas.
“We have not placed any conditions on the provision of this equipment,” Austin said, after a meeting of NATO ministers in Brussels.
“This is a professional military, led by professional leadership, and we would hope and expect that they would do the right things in the prosecution of their campaign.”
US HAD NO WARNING OF HAMAS ATTACK
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday that Washington had not had any “early warnings or indications” that Hamas would launch its unprecedented attack on Israel.
“If we had those indications, we would share them with Israel, but to my knowledge, we did not see those,” Austin said after a meeting of NATO ministers in Brussels
Hamas killed 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians, and took about 150 hostages.
US TELLS ISRAEL: ‘WE’LL ALWAYS BE BY YOUR SIDE’
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has vowed that the United States will “always” back Israel but said the Palestinians also have “legitimate aspirations” not represented by militant group Hamas.
“You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself,” Mr Blinken said during a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as war raged between Israel and Hamas.
“But as long as America exists, you will never, ever have to. We will always be there by your side.”
Mr Blinken compared the terror group to ISIS and condemned Hamas’ “depravity.”
The US Secretary of State went on to share the story of his Jewish grandfather who fled pogroms in Russia, and said Hamas’ attack had “harrowing echoes” to attacks on Jews throughout history.
Mr Netanyahu thanked his “good friend Tony” for his “important” visit to Israel, and expressed gratitude to President Biden and the United States for their “unequivocal support” of his country as it wages war against Hamas.
The Israeli PM said that Hamas must be “crushed” and warned the Israeli public that there will be “many difficult days ahead,” but promised that “the forces of civilisation will win.”
Paying a solidarity visit as Israel’s army hammers Hamas over weekend attacks that killed 1,200 people in Israel, Mr Blinken also gave a new death toll for US citizens, saying at least 25 were confirmed among the dead.
IRAN’S HUGE CALL AGAINST ISRAEL
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has called on Islamic and Arab countries to co-operate in confronting Israel as it wages a deadly war triggered by a surprise attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
“Today, all the Islamic and Arab countries and all the free people of the world must reach a serious convergence and co-operation in the path of stopping the crimes of the Zionist regime against the oppressed Palestinian nation,” Raisi told his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in a phone call late on Wednesday.
In order to stop the “genocide of the Palestinians by the Zionists”, Iran will co-ordinate with Islamic countries “as soon as possible”, the Iranian presidency website said on Thursday.
Iran, which backs Hamas, on Saturday celebrated the assault in Israel, though it insisted it was not involved in it.
During his call with Assad, Mr Raisi also lashed out at Arab countries that have recently normalised or are in discussion to establish ties with Israel.
“Today, all those who made public their relations with the Zionist regime under the pretext of defending the rights of the Palestinians were disgraced, and it has been proven to the whole world that the Zionist regime is in its weakest state,” he said.
During the call, Mr Assad emphasised the “necessity of rapid action at the Arab and Islamic levels to protect the Palestinian people, especially in the Gaza Strip, and to stop the Israeli raids targeting children and women”.
ISRAELI ARMY PREPARES FOR GROUND ASSAULT
The Israeli army said it was preparing for a ground assault on Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip but that the country’s political leaders had not yet taken a decision.
“We are waiting to see what our political leadership decides about a potential ground” incursion, Israeli army spokesperson Richard Hecht said on Thursday.
“This has not been decided yet … But we are preparing for a ground manoeuvre if it is decided,” he added.
The army has deployed tens of thousands of troops to the border with the Gaza Strip as it continues with a withering air campaign it says targets Hamas infrastructure, commanders and operating centres in the enclave.
HERO’ DOCTOR MURDERED SAVING OTHERS
From his Kibbutz Be’eri near the Gaza Strip, where the terrorists’ killing spree was playing out, Dr Daniel Levi told his family to get themselves to safety.
He would stay behind.
“Daniel, who was a doctor, insisted that his family flee without him while he stayed to help and treat the wounded. Hamas terrorists murdered him,” an Israeli Foreign ministry spokesman said.
The ministry described him as a “a hero murdered for saving others”.
ON THE GROUND IN TEL AVIV
News Corp Australia’s European Correspondent Danielle Gusmaroli ran for cover as rocket sirens sounded across Tel Aviv.
IDF COMMITTED MASSACRES, HAMAS CLAIMS
Hamas militants on Thursday fired a barrage of rockets at Tel Aviv in response to Israeli air strikes that targeted “civilians” in two Gaza refugee camps, the Palestinian group said.
“Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades fired rockets at Tel Aviv in response to (Israeli strikes) targeting civilians in Al-Shati and Jabalia camps,” Hamas said, referring to its armed wing.
Dozens of air strikes were witnessed over 30 minutes on Thursday morning in the direction of Al-Shati camp and in the blockaded strip’s north.
“The occupation (Israeli forces) committed massacres this morning in Al-Shati camp and Jabalia camp, leaving dozens of martyrs and injured,” Iyad al-Buzum, spokesman for the Hamas interior ministry said.
ISRAEL BLOCKS AID TO GAZA
Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz vowed his country would not allow basic resources or humanitarian aid into Gaza until Hamas released the people it abducted during its surprise weekend onslaught.
“Humanitarian aid to Gaza? No electric switch will be turned on, no water tap will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are returned home,” he said in a statement on Thursday.
US SECRETARY OF STATE TO HOLD LEADER TALKS IN JORDAN
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will hold talks with the Palestinian and Jordanian leaders in Amman, a US official said as Blinken heads to Israel.
“Tomorrow (Friday) in Amman, Secretary Blinken will have meetings with Palestinian president (Mahmud) Abbas and Jordanian King Abdullah II,” the official said.
HAMAS’ ROCKETS INTERCEPTED BY IRON DOME
Overnight, Hamas fired several rockets toward Tel Aviv which were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defence system. Israel hit back with a barrage of rockets into Gaza that according to Israeli media killed 33 people and took out a weapon’s storage house.
The IDF also said one strike killed Hamas’ commander Muhammad Abu Shamla and another unidentified militant who led last Saturday’s bloody assault.
The development came as Mr Netanyahu declared the formation of an emergency “unity government” with his top political Opposition rival, immediately setting up a war cabinet setting aside all other domestic agenda to focus full-time on the conflict.
If criticism is to come for the scores of Palestinian civilian deaths it will now be shared with Benny Gantz, a senior opposition figure and former defence minister, now in this new ruling coalition.
“Our partnership is not political, it is a shared fate, at this time we are all the soldiers of Israel,” Mr Gantz said.
AUSSIE FAMILY TRAPPED IN GAZA’S PLEA FOR HELP
An Australian family is stuck in the Gaza Strip unable to escape after travelling there for a holiday, with bombs falling less than 100m from where they are sheltering.
The Palestinian-Australian man, his wife and their two young children, aged seven and 10, travelled to Gaza from their home in Adelaide two weeks ago to visit family. It was the first time they had been back in 12 years.
After Hamas’s brutal attack on an Israeli music festival on Saturday, the family has become stuck in the blockaded territory with all borders to Israel and Egypt closed off.
The family are living in daily terror of being hit by a bomb.
He said they had fled his in-law’s house where they had been staying on Monday night just before the house next door was razed to the ground by a bomb.
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TWITTER MASS REMOVES HAMAS CONTENT
Social media giant X, formerly Twitter, has issued a statement saying it has “taken action to remove or label tens of thousands of pieces of content” since Hamas attacked Israel.
X chief executive Linda Yaccarino also said the company had “removed hundreds of Hamas-affiliated accounts on the platform” and “responded to 80 requests to take down content from the EU within the required timelines”.
It comes after Israeli intelligence firm, Cybara, found “tens of thousands of fake profiles” across various social media platforms, including X.
“We’re attacking in a way that the Gaza Strip has never experienced because this is an unprecedented event,” he said, adding the Hamas method of hiding among civilians could no longer be accepted. Palestinian authorities reported another 50 civilians were killed in the last 24hrs but many more were trapped in the rubble of apartment blocks as they appealed to Israel to stop indiscriminate bombardments.
ISRAEL PM HAS MEETING WITH JOE BIDEN
Mr Netanyahu had another discussion with US counterpart President Joe Biden who again pledged his support but also made clear Hamas did not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self determination.
In a conversation with the UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed, Mr Biden also said humanitarian considerations needed to be given, referring to his previous call for safe passage for Gazan civilians to be able to flee the Strip.
NO POWER IN GAZA KICKS IN
In Gaza, the last power plant confirmed the lights were out with no fuel supplies left with hospitals there also saying it had enough supplies for only two more days. Israel has sealed the enclave off from the outside world, halting all supply lines of food, water, fuel and medical supplies for the 2.3 million Palestinian citizens.
Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan who has offered to broker a peace deal between Israel and Hamas terrorists said the blockade and bombing of Gaza was disproportionate and now a “massacre”.
“Preventing people meeting their most fundamental needs and bombing housing where civilians live – in short, conducting a conflict using every sort of shameful method – is not a war, it’s a massacre,” he told parliament.
Red Cross has reached out to Hamas about the hostages militants were holding. – AFP
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