Israel to strike Gaza City 'very soon'
Israel will "broadly attack Gaza City very soon," Israel Defense Forces Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a national broadcast address Saturday.
Fighting is ongoing after Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Oct. 7.
At least 1,400 people have died and 3,400 others have been injured in Israel after the militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented incursion from air, land and sea on Oct. 7, Israeli authorities said.
In Gaza, 3,000 people have been killed and another 12,500 were injured, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Tensions are high with the prospect of ground war and evacuation orders for Gaza after the Israel Defense Forces called for "all residents of Gaza City to evacuate their homes" and "move south for their protection" early Friday, saying residents should move "and settle in the area south of the Gaza River." The announcement was made, according to the IDF, because it plans to "operate significantly in Gaza City in the coming days" and wanted "to avoid harming civilians."
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On the morning of Oct. 7, sirens echoed across Israel as Hamas terrorists began a full-fledged surprise attack from the air, sea and ground. Hundreds of armed Hamas fighters stormed into Israel from Gaza, charging into cities and gunning down citizens.
Israeli forces responded by sending wave after wave of bombs into Gaza, killing thousands, trapping civilians and raising fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East.
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Israel will "broadly attack Gaza City very soon," Israel Defense Forces Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a national broadcast address Saturday.
About 35,000 people are sheltering at Shifa Hospital, Gaza City's main hospital, ahead of an expected Israeli ground offensive, according to a hospital official.
People have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv in protest of the Israeli government, blaming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu for not protecting Israel's citizens.
Some chanted, "Bibi is a murderer."
Posters of kidnapped men, women and children are plastered on the wall outside where Israeli leaders are meeting.
Many Israelis are concerned a ground incursion into Gaza would put hostages in harm's way and they said more focus should be on bringing hostages home.
With 1 million people already displaced, Julia Touma, director of communications for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, said she's concerned that the conditions for Gaza residents will soon worsen.
"No humanitarian agency, including UNWRA, has been able to bring in any supplies for one week," she told ABC News Live on Saturday. "[There's] no drinking water and 2 million people are at the risk of dehydration. So it is very, very critical that humanitarian passage is given, that the siege on Gaza is lifted, so that organizations like my own, UNWRA, are able to deliver assistance."
"Time is running out. It's becoming a matter of life and death," she warned.