More than 600,000 Gazans flee, Israel readies for two-front war

Jerusalem: Israel is prepared to fight a war on two or more fronts, its chief military spokesman said on Sunday, adding that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement was launching attacks on the Lebanon border to hinder Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

Admiral Daniel Hagari said more than 600,000 Gazans had moved south following Israel’s announcement last week, ahead of an expected ground offensive, that residents should evacuate Gaza City.

Palestinian children look at the building of the Zanon family, destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Gaza Strip.Credit: AP

He said Israeli authorities had informed the families of 155 people held captive in Gaza, and said at least 289 Israeli soldiers were killed when Hamas launched a devastating attack on communities around the Gaza Strip eight days ago.

Israeli forces, supported by a growing deployment of US warships in the region, positioned themselves along Gaza’s border and drilled for what Israel said would be a campaign by air, land and sea to dismantle the militant group.

Israel dropped leaflets over Gaza City in the north and renewed warnings on social media, ordering more than 1 million Gaza residents to move south.

Israeli soldiers gather in a staging area near the border with Gaza Strip, in southern Israel.Credit: AP

US President Joe Biden spoke with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas about humanitarian assistance for Gaza, he posted on X on Sunday.

Biden said he told Abbas he was working with partners in the region to ensure humanitarian supplies reach civilians in Gaza.

No decision on a ground offensive has been announced, although Israel has been massing troops along the Gaza border.

More than 2670 Palestinians have been killed since the fighting began on October 7, while 1400 Israelis have died.

Gaza’s hospitals are expected to run out of fuel for emergency generations within two days, according to the UN, which said that that would endanger the lives of thousands of patients.

Northern border

Lebanese Hezbollah fighters launched attacks on Israeli army posts and a northern border village on Sunday, and Israel retaliated with strikes in Lebanon as UN peacekeepers warned border clashes were escalating.

Smoke rises from an Israeli army position which was attacked by Hezbollah fighters near Alma al-Shaab a Lebanese border village with Israel.Credit: AP

Sporadic fire across the Israel-Lebanon border over the past week has raised concerns that fighting with Hamas militants in Gaza could escalate into a broader conflict.

Hezbollah’s attack on Shtula, a farming community that abuts the border fence, killed one person and wounded three others, the militant group and Israeli medics said, as the worst border-violence since a month-long war in 2006 entered its second week.

Hezbollah also said it had targeted barracks in Israel’s Hanita with guided missiles and said it had inflicted casualties on “the enemy ranks”.

A shell from Israeli artillery explodes over Aita al-Shaab, a Lebanese border village with Israel.Credit: AP

The Israeli military said it had conducted strikes in Lebanon in retaliation and it declared a zone within 4 km of the Lebanese border off-limits to public access.

Three security sources confirmed to Reuters that Israeli artillery had struck several areas in the south.

Hamas’ armed wing, Al Qassam Brigades, said it had fired 20 rockets from Lebanon on two Israeli settlements.

United Nations peacekeeping force UNIFIL said its headquarters in south Lebanon had been hit by a rocket but no one was injured. It said it was working to determine where the projectile had come from.

“We continue to actively engage with authorities on both sides... but regrettably despite our efforts military escalation continues,” it said in a statement.

Israel’s defence minister said on Sunday that Israel has no interest in waging war on its northern front and that if Hezbollah restrains itself then Israel will keep the situation along the border as it is.

“We have no interest in a war in the north. We don’t want to escalate the situation,” Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told reporters.

“If Hezbollah chooses the path of war, it will pay a very heavy price. Very heavy. But if it restrains itself, we will respect that and keep the situation as it is,” Gallant said.

Hezbollah has said it is ready to fight Israel and that it would not be swayed by calls from Arab states and foreign powers for it to stay on the sidelines.

Sources say Hezbollah has designed its moves so far to be limited in scope, preventing a big spillover into Lebanon while keeping Israeli forces occupied.

Reuters

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