Eight days after the unprecedented attack by Hamas on its soil, Israel continued its preparations on Sunday October 15 for an offensive in northern Gaza, after giving residents additional time on Saturday to evacuate the area. Pending its ground offensive, the Israeli army on Friday called on the 1.1 million civilians in the north of the territory to reach the south of the Palestinian enclave. An army spokesperson, however, assured Saturday evening that the ground offensive would not start on Sunday, for humanitarian reasons. Follow our live stream.
The toll continues to rise. Palestinian authorities report 2,329 dead in the Gaza Strip, according to a new report released Sunday morning. In total, more than 1,300 buildings were destroyed in this 362 km² territory, the UN announced. On the Israeli side, at least 1,300 people, mainly civilians, died in Hamas attacks, according to the Israeli army.
The World Health Organization “condemns” the evacuation order for residents of northern Gaza. The evacuation of “22 hospitals treating more than 2,000 patients in northern Gaza”towards the overwhelmed establishments in the south of the territory could be “the equivalent of a death sentence”warned the institution on Saturday evening.
Three new special flights on Sunday to repatriate French nationals from Tel Aviv. “Vulnerable people, unaccompanied minors and pregnant women in particular, with disabilities or in medical situations presenting a particular emergency, will have priority on special organized flights”, specifies the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Since Thursday, four flights have been set up for a total of nearly 1,200 passengers.
France is worried about “regional escalation” violence. The Lebanese and the Hezbollah group must “stay away from conflict” between Israel and Hamas for “avoid opening a second front in the region”, declared the Elysée on Saturday. The French presidency judges “very worrying” the tense situation on the border between Lebanon and Israel. Paris also called on Iran, a supporter of Hezbollah, to “refrain from adding to tensions”.