Daily Despatch: Hamas Trying To Prevent Palestinian Civilians In Gaza From Fleeing

From the frontlines of the Israel-Palestine war, NDTV brings you daily despatches by journalist Allan Sorensen, Middle East Correspondent for Danish newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad, giving insights and gripping first-hand accounts from the war-torn region.

Seven days after Hamas launched its attack on Israel, the militant movement in Gaza is now also challenged by its own population. Some 48 hours have passed since Israel spread flyers over Gaza with a clear written request that the civilian population in the northern parts should flee south of Gaza to avoid being hit by Israeli bombardments. Some 1.1 million Palestinian civilians live in the areas Israel has asked them to empty.

According to both Israeli and local Palestinian sources inside Gaza, Hamas has responded to this development by setting up roadblocks in order to prevent the mass evacuation of approximately half of the Gaza Strip.

But according to reports, many Palestinian civilians are already heading south to escape from Israeli attacks. For the first time since the beginning of the fighting, Hamas now faces the challenge of standing alone against the Israeli army in these areas.

Tens of thousands of people in northern Gaza are believed to have fled their homes following Israel's evacuation warning. This is according to estimates by the UN humanitarian office OCHA.

Prior to Israel's evacuation order, more than 400,000 Palestinians, out of a 2.3 million population, had already been internally displaced.

The UN and international human rights organizations have criticized the Israeli evacuation order.

"With this order, Israeli forces are setting in motion the mass forced displacement of more than 1.1 million people from Gaza city and the entire northern part of the Gaza Strip. It has sowed panic among the population and left thousands of internally displaced Palestinians now sleeping on the streets, not knowing where to flee to or where they can find safety amid a relentless bombing campaign by Israel and merciless collective punishment measures. This order must be rescinded immediately," said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International's Secretary General.

Late Friday, the death toll in Gaza rose to at least 2,216, among them 724 children.

In a statement, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said his government is "literally non-stop communicating" with Israeli and Egyptian officials to open a humanitarian corridor between Egypt and Gaza.

In another development, Israeli mediastation Kan 11 on Friday published documents from Hamas' planning of last Saturday's attack. The documents, in this case about the attack on Kibbutz Alumim, reveal that the aim of the attack was to kill and kidnap as many Israelis as possible. Regardless of their age or gender and whether they were soldiers and civilians.

In a very unusual TV statement Friday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assured the Israeli population that the current attack on Gaza is only the beginning. The speech was unusual because of the timing. For decades, no Israeli Prime Minister has made a speech on Friday night due to the Jewish Sabbath. Therefore, rumors about a dramatic development circulated prior to Netanyahu's speech.

"We're hitting our enemies with unprecedented force, but I stress - It's only the beginning. Our enemies have only just begun to pay the price. I won't detail what will come next. But I'm telling you, it's only the beginning," Netanyahu said.

Israel, he emphasized, is garnering "immense international support. We are ensuring the continuation of the war, with more ammunition and weaponry coming to Israel... We will destroy Hamas, and we will win. It will take time, but we will end this war stronger than ever."

The spokesman of the Israeli Army later reiterated that Israel's aim remains to make sure Hamas will no longer rule in Gaza.

On the Lebanese side of the border to Israel, one Reuters journalist was killed and six others wounded on Friday afternoon. Lebanon blames Israel for killing and wounding the journalists. Many smaller security incidents took place near the border fence between the two countries on Friday, but these incidents have, as of now, not led to any dramatic escalation. The Lebanese Hezbollah militia has warned that it will retaliate for the attack that killed and wounded Lebanese journalists.

On the Israeli occupied West Bank, the Israeli Army made a series of arrests in different Palestinians cities last night. Some 40 Palestinians were arrested, 22 of them Hamas members, according to the Israeli Army spokesperson's office.

Russia has proposed a draft United Nations Security Council resolution on the current conflict between Israel and Hamas. The resolution calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and condemns violence against civilians and all acts of terrorism.

The draft resolution also calls for the release of hostages, humanitarian aid access and the safe evacuation of civilians in need.

The Israeli army spokesperson's office stated that Israeli elite units are already operating inside Gaza, especially to find clues to help locate the many kidnapped Israelis and foreigners inside Gaza. In one of the elite force operations, a few bodies of kidnapped Israelis were recovered and brought back to Israel by the soldiers.

(Allan Sorensen is the Middle East correspondent for the Danish daily newspaper Kristeligt Dagblad.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author.