Back4,000 Palestine nationals flee Gaza as Israel warns more air strikes
165 Palestinians including children, have died since Israel intensified its air strikes on the disputed Gaza Strip
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Tel Aviv/Jerusalem: Thousands of Palestinians fled to United Nations (UN) facilities in the Gaza Strip seeking sanctuary after Israel warned them to leave their homes ahead of stepped-up air strikes against rocket squads.
“About 4,000 Gazans have taken refuge in eight shelters run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency," spokesman Chris Gunness said Sunday on Twitter. “The Israeli military dropped leaflets and left voice and text messages urging Beit Lahiya residents to leave by midday because it intends to attack terrorists and terror infrastructure," according to an e-mailed statement from the army.
“The IDF’s campaign is to be short and temporary," the leaflet said, according to an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Twitter post. “Those who fail to comply with instructions will endanger their lives and the lives of their families. Beware."
According to Gaza’s health ministry, 165 Palestinians, including dozens of children, have died since Israel intensified its air strikes on the territory last week in response to hundreds of rocket attacks on Israeli communities.
As trucks carrying tanks traveled south to the Gaza border, Israel edged closer to its first ground assault on the territory since 2009. While world leaders have appealed for a cessation to hostilities, there has been no let-up in the violence, which flared after the killings of teenagers on both sides of the conflict.
Gaza Battleground
The Hamas-controlled Gaza has become a regular battleground for Israel and Palestine since Israelis evacuated the territory in 2005 after a 38-year occupation.
Hamas uses the territory as a platform to attack Israel, which together with Egypt sharply restricts the movement of people and goods to and from the enclave. Two major Israeli air and ground offensives against Hamas’s military capabilities since 2009 have only temporarily quashed the rocket fire.
The US and European Union (EU) classify Hamas as a terrorist organization.
The Tel Aviv 25 Index was trading up 0.9% at 2:33pm in Tel Aviv. The yield on Israel’s benchmark bond due March 2024 was unchanged.
“The Palestinian death toll includes at least 15 Palestinians killed late on Saturday in a air raid on the Gaza City home of the Hamas police commander, general Tayseer al-Batsh, which also damaged an adjacent mosque," according to Ashraf al Qedra, spokesman for the Gaza health ministry.
The violence is straining Palestinine’s health system, and World Health Organization appealed for $60 million to help prevent its collapse. Deputy prime minister Ziad Abu Omar and health minister Jawad Awad will head to Gaza for the first time since the Palestinians formed a Hamas-backed government in June, according to a government statement.
Human Shields
“No Israelis have died from rocket fire, though a 16-year-old teenager was badly hurt in an attack today," Channel 2 TV said on Sunday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Hamas of exposing Gaza civilians to danger by putting militants and weapons in mosques and hospitals and near schools.
“We don’t know how long the campaign will carry on," Netanyahu said in comments to his cabinet, according to an e-mailed statement from his office. “It may take a long time."
Israeli soldiers entered Gaza briefly overnight to destroy a rocket-launching site and four were slightly wounded in an exchange of fire with militants," the army said.
It was the first ground deployment since hostilities intensified yet not the full-fledged ground incursion that Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, have signaled may come. Bloomberg
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