12 paramedics killed in Israeli airstrike on Lebanese village
At least 12 paramedics from civil defence teams were killed in an Israeli airstrike on their centre in Duris, a village in Baalbek in eastern Lebanon, media reported.
Gazans found themselves in a dilemma after Hamas, the militant group having control of the Gaza, asked them not to respond to the evacuation order issued by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) ahead of their expected ground assault.
According to the international media reports, Hamas officials have asked citizens of the Gaza Strip to ignore the Israeli military’s order to relocate to the south, terming it “fake propaganda”. Hamas has long been criticized for using civilians as “human shields” to protect its fighters from Israeli attacks
In a direct message to the civilians in north of the Gaza earlier today, the IDF had asked them to evacuate to the area south of the Wadi Gaza ahead of their “military operation” in the Hamas controlled region.
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“Civilians of Gaza City, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families and distance yourself from Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields,” the IDF said in a message and gave a 24-hour deadline.
While people in Gaza started leaving their homes soon after Israeli warning, the message from Hamas to not leave has put them in fix. The Gazans are now caught between Israel’s warning ahead of an expected ground invasion and Hamas officials telling them to ignore the “fake propaganda” Israeli military.
Meanwhile, the United Nations has also asked Israel to withdraw the mass evacuation order, warning “devastating humanitarian consequences”. According to the United Nations, around 1.1 million Gazans – nearly half of the Hamas-controlled region’s total population – has been affected by the Israel’s order.
Experts believe the evacuation of 1.1 million people in 24 hours is nearly impossible as it would involve 40,000 people per hour. The evacuation of children, women, elderly and people already in hospitals will bring chaos, they said.
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