Israel-Hamas war: The barbaric October 7 Hamas attack in Israel brought wrath upon thousands of innocent people in Israel and Gaza. First Hamas militants ravaged Israel with rocket barrages, followed by a massive ground assault, killing babies, their mothers and in some cases babies inside their mothers and many more civilians. In response, Israel has been been pounding the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip with air strikes in which more than 1,500 Gazans have lost their lives.

Israel is now ready to launch a ground assault to root out Hamas from the Gaza. The Israeli military has asked Gazans living in the north of the region to flee their homes within 24 hours and move to safer areas south of the Wadi Gaza. Soon after, Hamas officials asked people of Gaza to ignore the Israeli military’s warning and urged them stay inside their homes. Hamas has long been accused of using civilians as human shield to protect its militants from Israeli attacks.

As the Gazans are caught between Israeli warning to leave ahead of an expected ground assault and Hamas saying not to pay heed to the IDF’s “fake propaganda”, below is what’s latest in the Israel-Hamas war.

Gazans leaving their home

People living in the northern parts of Gaza are fleeing to the south of the Gaza Strip after Israel gave them a 24-hour deadline to evacuate their homes for their “safety and protection” ahead of a military operation. The United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have both criticized Israel’s order, warning “devastating humanitarian consequences”. The Israeli military has reportedly said that it understands evacuation could take longer but it is not clear if it plans to delay the ground assault. Meanwhile, Hamas officials are trying to convince Gazans that the warning is just a “fake propaganda” and that they don’t leave their homes.

The #IsraeliOccupation forces asked more than 1 million w”>#Palestinian in #Gaza to leave their houses and relocate south within 24 hours.#Gazans are reliving the #Nakba!

Motaz Azaiza#SaveGaza #StandupforGaza #IsraeliCrimes #GazaUnderAttack #PalDigiplomacy #PMOFA pic.twitter.com/bYGYz4W4ru

— Palestinian Public Diplomacy (@MofaPPD) October 13, 2023

Hamas continues to fire rockets at Israel: Even as Israel prepares for a likely ground assault, Hamas continues to fire rockets from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel. According to the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), Hamas’s military wing – the al-Qassam Brigades – have fired rockets at Ashkelon. According to local media reports, Hamas has fired more than 150 reports since Friday morning.

Hezbollah says ready to join Hamas: In a statement that could give Israeli government officials sleepless nights, Lebanon-based militant outfit Hezbollah has said that it was “fully prepared” to join Hamas in its war against Israel. Earlier today, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian visited neighbouring Lebanon and met with Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. Earlier this week, Hezbollah projectiles fired from Lebanon targeted an Israeli military post. The Nasrallah-led group had said that the attack was in solidarity with Hamas militants. Like Hamas, Hezbollah is also backed and funded by Iran.

Pro-Palestinian protests: In other updates, thousands of pro-Palestine supporters have gathers in Iraq, Jordan and Indonesia to protest against Israel’s attack on Hamas targets in Gaza. Hamas has called on Islamic nations and Palestinian resistance fighters across the world to join the battle. Security has also been beefed up around Jewish establishments and Israeli Embassy in national capital Delhi in view of potential protests.

Rallies in solidarity with Israel: Besides pro-Palestinian protests, people around the world, including India, are holding rallies in support of Israel after the brutal Hamas onslaught last week. Indians in Delhi held placards and raised slogans in support of Israel. The Israeli Embassy has even said that they have received such an overwhelming support from Indians that an army of volunteers could be raised.

Diplomacy at works: As Israel and Hamas continue to be locked in a deadly conflict, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken Thursday met Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan. While Blinken appeared to be extending full US support to Israel, he asked the Jewish country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to “operate by the rules of war”. Blinken had visited Israel and met Netayahu in Tel Aviv, where he was also shown the pictures of babies allegedly killed by Hamas savages.