Israel prepares evacuation of civilians in Gaza

Before the planned expansion of the Gaza War to densely populated areas such as the city of Gaza, Israel is preparing the resettlement of Palestinians within the sealed coastal strip. The delivery of tents and equipment for the accommodations will be resumed on Sunday. This is part of the preparation of the evacuation of the population from combat areas.

People would be brought to the south of the Gaza Strip, said Cogat. The authority did not explain exactly where people should go. It is also unclear when the evacuation should begin.

The plan for the expansion of the Gaza War provides for the take of the city of Gaza and a central refugee camp to break up the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas. According to media reports, the Israeli chief of staff Ejal Zamir had warned of major risks for soldiers and hostages remaining in the Gaza Strip, but ultimately initiated plans to fulfill the requirements of the political management of the country.

The attack by Hamas and other Islamist groups on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1200 people were killed and more than 250 deported to Gaza as hostages, triggered the Gaza war with tens of thousands of dead. The humanitarian situation in the now largely devastated area is catastrophic.

According to the health authority in Gaza controlled by the Hamas on Saturday afternoon, 62 Palestinians died in the 24 hours earlier. 29 of them were killed in connection with the distribution of humanitarian aid goods, which has happened again and again in the past few weeks. The number of dead since the beginning of the Gaza War has increased to almost 62,000. The authority does not differentiate between fighters and civilians in its information. UN organizations, however, rate the number as largely credible.

In Israel, thousands of people took to the streets again on Saturday to demand a quick end to the Gaza War and a deal to release the hostages from the violence of Hamas. Today, the organization of the hostage members wants to paralyze the country with a strike in order to make their demands hear.

Sunday in Israel is the first working day of the week in Israel. “Tomorrow we will bring the country to a standstill,” said Einav Zangauker at the rally – her son Matan is one of 20 living hostages in the Gaza Strip. “And we won’t stop tomorrow, we won’t be waiting (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu that he ends the war, we get what we are entitled to.”

It is questionable what consequences the strike call call will have on Sunday. The mighty trade union roof association Histadrut did not join him. According to media reports, there were also demonstrations in Haifa, Jerusalem and Beerscheva on Saturday.

According to Israeli assessment, Hamas in the Gaza Strip also holds the corpses of 30 deported. Sales of indirect negotiations on the release of hostages and the end of the war brought no result.

However, a negotiating solution is not completely off the table. There is currently no talk of a restart of indirect conversations in which Egypt, Qatar and the USA convey between Israelis and Hamas. However, media repeatedly report on contacts and explorations that would aim to start the negotiation process again.