Palestinians began a mass exodus from northern Gaza on Friday after Israel’s military told some one million people to evacuate toward the southern part of the besieged territory, an unprecedented order ahead of an expected ground invasion against the ruling Hamas militant group. The United Nations warned that so many people fleeing en masse — almost half the Gaza population — would be calamitous. Hamas, which staged a shocking and brutal attack on Israel nearly a week ago and has fired thousands of rockets since, dismissed the evacuation order as a ploy and called on people to stay in their homes. The evacuation order, which applies to Gaza City, home to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, sparked widespread panic among civilians and aid workers already running from Israeli airstrikes and contending with a total siege of Gaza. Israel has cut off all food, water and supplies and caused a territory-wide blackout. “Forget about food, forget about electricity, forget about fuel. The only concern now is just if you’ll make it, if you’re going to live,” said Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza City. The war has already claimed over 3,000 lives on both sides and sent tensions soaring across the region. Israel has bombarded Gaza round the clock since Hamas’ attack, in which its fighters massacred hundreds in southern Israel and snatched some 150 people to Gaza as hostages. Hamas said Israel’s airstrikes killed 13 of the hostages in the past day. It said the dead included foreigners but did not give their nationalities. Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari denied that, telling Al-Jazeera Arabic that “we have our own information and do not believe the lies of Hamas”. Israel said on Thursday it would allow no supplies into Gaza until Hamas frees the hostages. Thousands of protesters poured onto the streets of several West Asian capitals, including Tehran, Baghdad, Bahrain, Beirut and Amman, on Friday in support of Palestinians amid Israeli air strikes on Gaza in reprisal for the surprise Hamas attack.
Amid the flare-up, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said terrorism, for any reason, is against humanity. “[The world] is grappling with conflicts and confrontations, such a world full of conflicts and confrontations is not in anyone’s interest.” Addressing the inaugural session of the ninth G-20 Parliamentary Speakers’ Summit (P-20), Mr. Modi pointed out that there is no consensus on the definition of terrorism even in the United Nations (UN) and “enemies of humanity take advantage of this”. Noting that a divided world cannot provide solutions to global challenges, the Prime Minister said “this is time for peace and brotherhood” and called for an end to the “crisis in global trust and move forward with a human-centric approach”. India brought back the first batch of citizens from Israel under Operation Ajay. The first flight carried 212 citizens who had registered with the Embassy of India soon after the security situation worsened with Hamas’ attack against Israel last week. Around 18,000 Indians work or study in Israel, in addition to about 85,000 Israelis of Indian origin (from Maharashtra, Manipur, Mizoram, Kerala, and West Bengal). Within hours of the Hamas attack, Mr. Modi had tweeted India’s solidarity with Israel. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) later announced the government’s formal statement, reiterating its “long-standing and consistent” position on the Palestine issue. In an editorial, The Hindu said the statement is a reminder of the tightrope India has walked since 1992, when New Delhi established full diplomatic ties with Israel, while continuing to support the Palestinian cause. “No claim to righting historical grievances can possibly be used by Hamas to explain its inhuman attacks on Israel. However, a responsible state cannot behave like an insurgent group, and Israel’s latest demand, that more than a million Gaza residents must evacuate as it continues to pound the city and plans a possible ground offensive, will make Delhi’s challenge at balancing policy even more complex,” it said.
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