Israel told the United Nations to evacuate 1.1 million residents in north Gaza within 24 hours, in the strongest sign yet that a ground offensive is imminent. Spokesperson of the UN Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said such a move was “impossible.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken offered reassurances of ongoing U.S. support to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, heading into a meeting in Tel Aviv, in the wake of bloody attacks perpetrated by Palestinian militant group Hamas against Israel over the weekend.
“We’re here, we’re not going anywhere,” Blinken told Netanyahu.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu meet in Tel Aviv
Separately, Palestine Liberation Organization Secretary-General Hussein al-Sheikh said on X that Blinken will convene with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority on Friday.
The U.S. has firmly denounced the Hamas attacks and previously proposed a humanitarian corridor for civilians in the Gaza Strip.
The death toll meanwhile continues to mount in Israel and Gaza, as sirens blare and war wages.
Israeli Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Israel Katz said Thursday that the Gaza siege will not be lifted until the country’s hostages, taken by Hamas, are returned home.
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13 HOURS AGO
UN says Israel wants 1.1 million people in Gaza to move south in the next 24 hours
TOPSHOT - This picture taken on October 13, 2023 shows flyers dropped by the Israeli military over Gaza City, warning residents to flee "immediately" to the south. A map featured on the flyers showed an arrow pointing south across a line in the central Gaza Strip. The message signed by the Israeli military ordered residents to "evacuate public shelters in Gaza City". Some 423,000 Gazans have been displaced in recent days, 60 percent of whom are taking shelter with the United Nations agency for Palestinian r
This picture taken on October 13, 2023 shows flyers dropped by the Israeli military over Gaza City, warning residents to flee “immediately” to the south.
Mohammed Abed | AFP | Getty Images
Israel has called for the evacuation of 1.1 million residents in north Gaza to move south in the next 24 hours, Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, confirmed with NBC News.
“The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” the statement said.
The entire population of Gaza north of Wadi Gaza has been ordered to relocate to southern Gaza “within the next 24 hours,” the Israeli military informed the UN and the Department of Safety and Security in Gaza before midnight local time.
TOPSHOT - Palestinians with their belongings flee from their homes following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 13, 2023. Israel has called for the immediate relocation of 1.1 million people in Gaza amid its massive bombardment in retaliation for Hamas's attacks, with the United Nations warning of "devastating" consequences. (Photo by Mahmud Hams / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)
Palestinians with their belongings flee from their homes following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 13, 2023.
Mahmud Hams | AFP | Getty Images
That’s 1.1 million people — about half the size of Gaza Strip’s population.
The move suggests that Israel could be moving to proceed with its ground offensive into the Palestinian enclave to pursue Hamas militants that the Jewish nation has pledged to wipe out.
The same order was given to all of UN’s staff and those taking refuge in UN facilities, such as schools, medical centers and clinics.
14 HOURS AGO
North Korea denies Hamas militants used its weapons against Israel
North Korea has denied that its weapons were used in the terrorist attack on Israel by Hamas, Reuters reported.
Washington-based news site Radio Free Asia said earlier this week that a video showed a Hamas fighter using what looked to be a rocket launcher suspected to be manufactured in North Korea.
“The U.S. administration’s reptile press bodies and quasi-experts are spreading a groundless and false rumor that ‘north Korea’s weapons’ seemed to be used for the attack on Israel,” the North’s official KCNA news agency said, according to Reuters.
“It is nothing but a bid to shift the blame for the Middle East crisis caused by its wrong hegemonic policy onto a third country and thus evade the international criticism focused on the empire of evil,” it said.
15 HOURS AGO
Europe probes Musk’s X about misinformation on Israel-Hamas war, violence on the app
A European regulator has said a formal request to X, formerly known as Twitter, has been sent to obtain information about the spread of illegal content and disinformation on the social media platform amid the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The European commissioner for the internal market, Thierry Breton, said on X that the European Commission — the EU’s executive arm — is investigating whether X is complying with the Digital Services Act.
Breton sent a letter to X owner Elon Musk expressing concern about the spread of misinformation and “violent and terrorist” content on the service. He urged Musk to respond within 24 hours. Breton sent Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg a similar letter on Wednesday about disinformation on Facebook “to ensure that your systems are effective.
Read the full story here.
18 HOURS AGO
Billboards in Israel were briefly hacked to display pro-Hamas messages
Israel supporters hold flags as they protest, following Hamas' biggest attack on Israel in years, in Bogota, Colombia October 9, 2023. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
Israel supporters hold flags as they protest, following Hamas’ biggest attack on Israel in years, in Bogota, Colombia October 9, 2023.
Luisa Gonzalez | Reuters
Cybersecurity threats in Israel are mounting amid the Israel-Hamas war, including two hijacked smart billboards in and near Tel Aviv that briefly showed pro-Hamas content.
But the biggest cyberattack of the week impacted Ono Academic College near Tel Aviv on Monday, according to Gil Messing of Check Point Security Technologies, an Israeli cybersecurity firm.
In the attack, hackers claiming to be from Jordan published about 250,000 personal records of the college’s students,more
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