Israel orders 1 million Gaza residents to evacuate south

Photo: Israel stores bodies for identification at military base

IDF says Gaza evacuation ‘must be carried out as soon as possible’

The evacuation in northern Gaza must be carried out as soon as possible, the IDF told NBC News when asked about the 24-hour deadline issued by the Israeli army late yesterday.

The U.N., World Health Organization and numerous humanitarian groups have called on Israel to rescind the order, raising concerns about the injured who can’t be moved and lack of safe areas in the densely populated enclave that more than 2 million people call home.

“The IDF issued an evacuation warning,” a spokesperson said. “The evacuation must be carried out as soon as possible for their safety.”

U.N. Security Council to meet later today

The U.N. Security Council will meet in New York City for a second time to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas.

Brazil, which holds the council’s monthly rotating presidency, said in a statement released by its Foreign Ministry on Wednesday that Foreign Affairs Minister Mauro Vieira was interrupting a trip to Asia to attend the meeting Brazil had called.

The 15-member council did not release any joint statement after a previous emergency meeting Sunday, the day after Hamas launched its surprise attack. It is unclear whether the meeting later today will be held in public.

Protests across the Middle East in support of Palestinians

Tens of thousands of people protested across the Middle East in support of the Palestinians and in condemnation of Israel.

In Jerusalem, the Al-Aqsa Mosque was expected to be a focus of demonstrators’ attention and a possible flashpoint.

From Amman, Jordan, to Yemen’s capital, Muslims poured out onto the streets after weekly Friday prayers. Tens of thousands of Iraqi protesters also gathered in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square today, burning the Israeli flag, waving Palestinian flags and chanting anti-American slogans.

Authorities in the U.S., throughout Europe and elsewhere were on alert after a former leader of Hamas called for a global day of “anger” today. Such calls for a “day of rage” in the past have led to sizable demonstrations and unrest.

Israel expresses ‘deep disappointment’ over China’s response to Hamas attack

The Israeli Foreign Affairs Ministry said that it expressed “deep disappointment” in a call with the Chinese envoy to the Middle East over Beijing’s failure to explicitly condemn the terrorist attacks by Hamas.

“The ambassador expressed Israel’s deep disappointment with Chinese announcements and statements about the recent events in the south, where there was no clear and unequivocal condemnation of the terrible massacre committed by the terrorist organization Hamas against innocent civilians and the abduction of dozens of them to Gaza,” the statement said.

In his call Thursday with Israeli Foreign Ministry official Rafi Harpaz, China’s first public contact with Israel since the attack, Middle East envoy Zhai Jun said Beijing condemns actions that harm civilians and calls for a cease-fire and the resumption of peace talks based on a two-state solution, according to a readout published by the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Also Thursday, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made his first public comments on the Israel-Hamas war, saying that the Palestinian issue is at the core of Middle East affairs, and that “the crux of the matter is that justice has not been done to the Palestinian people.”

Hamas’ hostages claim adds to families’ anguish

TEL AVIV — For Israeli families desperate to be reunited with their loved ones who were taken hostage by Hamas, the militant group’s claim today that 13 hostages died in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip comes as a new and devastating blow. NBC News has not verified Hamas’ claim.

“I feel horrible,” said Liel Fishbien, 25, whose younger sister, Tchelet Fishbien, 18, and her boyfriend, whom she had recently started dating, are believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas when it ambushed Be’eri on Saturday. “Horrible doesn’t even begin to describe it,” he said.

He said he has not had any word about his sister since he last lost contact with her around 11:30 a.m. Saturday. He survived the incident after hiding with his grandmother at her home, but his sister and her boyfriend, who were at another residence, are believed to have been taken by Hamas.

Orly Chen, the aunt of Itay Chen, a 19-year-old believed to have taken hostage Saturday while on active duty for the Israeli military, said she hadn’t heard about Hamas’ claim. “I don’t even know what to say. I don’t know,” Chen, 56, said. “It’s not easy. We’re not sleeping … I don’t even know what’s going on. I just want my nephew.”

Humanitarian group calls Israeli evacuation order ‘outrageous’

The international charity Doctors Without Borders has accused Israel of launching “an attack on medical care and humanity” by giving residents of northern Gaza an order to leave their homes, land and hospitals.

Meinie Nicolai, director general of the charity also known as Médecins Sans Frontières, said in a statement that Israel’s evacuation order was “outrageous” and condemned it “in the strongest possible terms.”

“‘Unprecedented’ doesn’t even cover the medical humanitarian impact of this,” she said. “Gaza is being flattened, thousands of people are dying, this must stop now.”

U.S. boosts security after former Hamas head calls for day of anger

Putin says Gaza ground assault would lead to ‘unacceptable’ civilian deaths

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said a possible ground operation by Israel in the Gaza Strip would led to “absolutely unacceptable casualties.”

“We hear now about preparing a ground operation. We understand how it will go. How do I put it? In a semi-professional style, use of heavy equipment in residential areas is hard to execute. This may lead to grave consequences for all the sides,” Putin said.

“The most important thing is that losses among civilians will be absolutely unacceptable,” he added. “There are almost 2 million people living there.”

Putin’s own war in Ukraine has led to hundreds of thousands of military and civilian casualties and obliterated entire cities, to little gain for Russia’s army.

Biden to speak with families of Americans believed held hostage in Gaza

President Joe Biden is expected to speak with the families of some of the Americans believed to be held hostage in Gaza today, according to a White House official.

He addressed the scheduled call with the family members in a clip released from his interview with “60 Minutes” that’s airing Sunday on CBS.

“Why do you feel so strongly about speaking to these families personally?” asked “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley. Biden responded, “Because I think they have to know that the president of the United States of America cares deeply about them, deeply.”

“We have to communicate to the world this is critical. This is not even human behavior. it’s pure barbarism, and we’re going to do everything in our power to get them home, if we can find them,” he added.

Israel’s evacuation order for Gaza ‘a death sentence’ for those on life support, WHO says

Israel’s order calling for more than 1 million people to evacuate from northern Gaza is effectively a “death sentence” to those on life support in Gaza’s hospitals, a spokesperson for the World Health Organization told NBC News today.

“Moving severely ill people, and remember many are children, whose injuries mean their only chances of survival are being on life support, such as mechanical ventilation while they recover, is a death sentence,” Tarik Jasarevic said. “Asking health workers to do this or leave those who need their care behind is beyond cruel.”

In a separate statement, the WHO said civilians had “no safe place left to go.”

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also wrote on X that the health system in the Gaza Strip was at a “breaking point” and called for the immediate establishment of a humanitarian corridor.

Israel drops leaflets urging Gaza City residents: ‘Leave your homes immediately’

Israel dropped leaflets over Gaza City telling residents to evacuate and move south. It came after it earlier issued the same warning to the United Nations and online.

“Gaza city has turned into a battle field,” the leaflet read in Arabic, according to a translation by Reuters. “You have to leave your homes immediately and head south of Wadi Gaza. For your safety: Don’t return to your homes until further notice from the Israeli Defence Forces.”

Wadi Gaza is the river that bisects the narrow strip of land.

Israel criticizes U.N. response to northern Gaza evacuation order

The Israeli ambassador to the U.N., Gilad Erdan, criticized the world organization for its response to the evacuation order this morning.

“The UN’s response to Israel’s early warning to the residents of Gaza is shameful! For many years, the UN has turned a blind eye to the arming of Hamas and its use of the civilian population and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip as a hiding place for its weapons and murder. Now, instead of standing by Israel, whose citizens were slaughtered by Hamas terrorists and who tries to minimize harm to those not involved, it preaches to Israel,” Erda said in a statement.

“It is better for the UN to focus now on returning the hostages, condemning Hamas, and supporting Israel’s right to defend itself,” he added.

Tanks amass along the Gaza border

Max Butterworth

Israeli tanks head toward the border with Gaza in southern Israel last evening.

IDF confirms 750 airstrikes on northern Gaza overnight

The IDF said it struck 750 military targets in the northern Gaza Strip overnight, as Israel continues its bombardment and blockade of the enclave.

Among the targets hit, the IDF said, were underground Hamas terror tunnels, military compounds and weapons storage warehouses.

But the U.N. has warned that Israeli airstrikes have hit residential infrastructure, killing hundreds and displacing hundreds of thousands more.

‘Just run’: Gaza residents flee south after Israeli order

As the Israeli military orders residents of northern Gaza to move south, many say they have nowhere to go but were leaving anyway in the face of an expected ground offensive.

“We’re just going, if you have a car just run. No one knows where we’re going, but we’re all evacuating,” Salma Shurrab, a 22-year-old dental student living in Gaza City, told NBC News.

Shurrab said all her neighbors had already left. “No one is left but us and we’re ready to run.” But it remains unclear where they can go, with airstrikes hitting almost every part of the tiny blockaded enclave.

“Just pray for us and, hopefully we’ll come back home,” said Shurrab, who was due to graduate this year, as she packed her bags. “We will come back home.”

Israel says families of 120 hostages notified so far

The Israeli military said today it has confirmed that at least 120 people were taken as hostages during the bloody incursion by Hamas, and their families have been notified — a significant increase in the confirmed number of those taken prisoner by the militants.

Israeli troops and tanks deployed on the Lebanese border

Rescind Gaza evacuation order, humanitarian groups urge Israel

A number of humanitarian organizations are calling for Israel to reverse its order for people in northern Gaza to evacuate, raising the alarm about the potential for devastating humanitarian fallout.

The United Nations said early today it was impossible for such a movement to take place “without devastating humanitarian consequences.”

The Palestine Red Crescent Society called Israel’s evacuation warning “alarming and horrifying,” saying that 1.2 million civilians in northern Gaza are “facing the threat of losing their lives with nowhere to go.”

Meanwhile, the Norwegian Refugee Council warned that the Israeli order, absent of any guarantees of safety or return, would amount to the war crime of forcible transfer. “It must be reversed,” Secretary General Jan Egeland said in a statement today.

Missile strikes continue in southern Gaza after Israel orders residents to evacuate

Max Butterworth

An injured woman is helped in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, this morning, as people search through the rubble of a destroyed building after an Israeli airstrike. The IDF has ordered residents of northern Gaza to evacuate south.

Israeli Embassy employee is stabbed in Beijing

An employee of the Israeli Embassy in Beijing was hospitalized today after a stabbing attack, The Associated Press reported, citing the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

The employee is in stable condition, the ministry said. It said the attack did not take place on the embassy grounds and that the motive for the attack was being investigated.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry declined to comment. The Israeli Embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a phone call and email after business hours.

Israelis and Jews around the world have been warned to stay vigilant today after Hamas called for an international “Day of Rage” in solidarity with Palestinians.

‘I can’t feel sorry for them,’ Israeli woman says of Gaza residents

HERZLIYA — Noy Fliker, 27, says she wishes that all “good” people could be safe — but over the past seven days, she has been telling herself she “can’t feel sorry” for what is happening to people in Gaza, including innocent civilians.

“A lot of us in Israel, we love life and we just want to live our life. I don’t like politics, I don’t like to speak about it,” said Fliker. Her close family friend was taken hostage by Hamas at the music festival that was ambushed Saturday and her brother is serving with the Israeli military in the south. “Now, after what they’ve done to us you can’t feel sorry for them. I’m sorry but you just can’t,” she said of people in Gaza.

Asked if she recognizes the difference between civilians and Hamas militants, Fliker, a pilates teacher who lives in the coastal city of Herzliya, said that she does, but that her feelings about that distinction have changed.

With Israel giving an order for all civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate south, Fliker said: “Of course, I wish God would come here and say, ‘he’s evil’ and ‘he’s good,’ but we can’t know that.”

“Now it’s different, she said. “You’re just scared for your life.”

Austin lands in Israel

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has landed in Tel Aviv in the latest show of U.S. support for Israel.

He posted on social media that he would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Austin’s Israeli defense counterpart, Yoav Gallant.

The trip is intended “to demonstrate that America’s support for Israel’s security is ironclad” and to talk to Israeli officials “face-to-face about their defense needs,” he wrote on the social media platform X.

IDF scorns Hamas for telling Gazans to ignore evacuation order

The Israeli military said Hamas was telling Gaza residents “to ignore our safety instructions” after the militant group called for people in northern Gaza to reject Israel’s evacuation order and termed it “psychological warfare.”

Some Gaza City residents flee after Israeli order

Max Butterworth

Palestinians carry their belongings as they attempt to flee Gaza City today. The Israeli military has ordered residents of northern Gaza to evacuate south.

Blinken meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas

Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan as part of his visit to the region after the Hamas attack.

Abbas heads the Palestinian Authority, which partially administers the occupied West Bank. His Fatah movement has long been opposed to Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza.

Abbas condemned violence against civilians yesterday in the wake of the bloody attack by Hamas militants on Israel and the bombardment of the Gaza Strip by Israel.

Hamas claims 13 hostages, including foreigners, killed in Israeli airstrikes

Hamas claimed early today that 13 hostages, including foreigners, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours.

NBC News has not verified the claim.

Hamas is holding dozens of people, both military and civilians including Americans, after taking hostages during its bloody incursion into Israel last weekend. Many of them are believed to have been taken into Gaza.

Hamas tells Gazans to reject Israel’s evacuation order

Hamas has called on residents of Gaza to reject Israel’s warnings to evacuate south from the northern part of the densely populated enclave.

It comes after Israeli armed forces confirmed the order to evacuate northern Gaza within 24 hours that was shared by the U.N. late yesterday.

In a statement released today, the political wing of Hamas told the people of Gaza to ignore the warnings to leave their homes and move south, accusing Israel of using “psychological warfare” against Gazans.

Meanwhile, Gaza’s Ministry of Interior and National Security also told residents “not to respond to the audio recordings that the occupation randomly distributes to mobile numbers.” It told people who feel in direct danger of airstrikes to “move to an alternative home or go to the nearest shelter center to your place of residence until the danger passes.”

Israeli military orders northern Gaza residents to evacuate south

The Israeli military has ordered all residents of northern Gaza to evacuate to the south of the densely populated enclave, a move that will raise fears of an imminent ground offensive in the war against Hamas.

The United Nations said it had been told that the warning, which it said covered some 1.1 million people, needed to be carried out within 24 hours. It was “impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” said Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the U.N. secretary-general.

The order, which includes Gaza City, was delivered in order to “minimize the damage to civilians,”, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said in a video livestream. He did not provide a time frame for the order to be carried out. 

Potential Israeli ground invasion of Gaza looms; death toll rises

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