Gaza braces for Israeli ground assault, fears of conflict spreading grow
GAZA/JERUSALEM, (Reuters) Israeli troops prepared last night for a ground assault on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip as the country hit back for an unprecedented assault on its territory, and Iran warned of "farreaching consequences" if Israel's bombardment was not stopped.
Israel has vowed to annihilate the militant group Hamas in retaliation for a rampage in which its fighters stormed through Israeli towns eight days ago, shooting men, women and children and seizing hostages in the worst attack on civilians in the country's history.
Some 1,300 people were killed in the unexpected onslaught, which shook the country because of horrifying mobile phone video footage and reports from medical and emergency services of atrocities in the towns and kibbutzes that were overrun.
Israel responded by subjecting Gaza to the most intense bombardment it has ever seen, putting the enclave, home to 2.3 million Palestinians, under total siege and destroying much of its infrastructure.
The expected ground assault had not begun by the early hours of Sunday.
Gaza authorities said more than 2,200 people have been killed, a quarter of them children, and nearly 10,000 wounded. Rescue workers searched desperately for survivors of nighttime air raids. One million people had reportedly left their homes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government also told Lebanese militant group Hezbollah not to start a war on a second front, threatening the "destruction of Lebanon" if it did.
Iran's mission go the United Nations warned late on Saturday that if Israel's "war crimes and genocide" were not halted immediately, "the situation could spiral out of control" and have far-reaching consequences.
Both Hamas and Hezbollah are backed by Iran.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh met with Iran's foreign minister on Saturday in Qatar, where they discussed the Palestinian group's attack in Israel "and agreed to continue cooperation" to achieve the group's goals, Hamas said in a statement.
U.S. President Joe Biden and other world leaders warned against any country broadening the conflict. And international organizations and aid groups urged calm and pressed Israel to allow humanitarian assistance to get through.
In New York, Russia asked the U.N. Security Council to vote on Monday on a draft resolution on the IsraelHamas conflict that calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and condemns violence against civilians and all acts of terrorism.
Yesterday, Biden called Netanyahu and, while reiterating "unwavering" support for Israel, discussed international coordination to ensure innocent civilians have access to water, food and medical care.
Biden also spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who stressed the urgent need to allow urgent humanitarian aid corridors in Gaza.
The U.S. Department of Defense said the Eisenhower aircraft carrier strike group would start moving towards the Eastern Mediterranean to join another carrier strike group already there.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said it was "part of our effort to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas's attack on Israel."
On Friday, the Israeli military told residents of the northern half of the Gaza Strip, which includes the enclave's biggest settlement, Gaza City, to move south immediately. On Saturday, it said it would guarantee the safety of Palestinians fleeing on two main roads until 4:00 p.m. (1300 GMT). Troops were massing as the deadline passed.
Hamas told people not to leave and says roads out are unsafe. It said dozens of people were killed in strikes on cars and trucks carrying refugees on Friday, which Reuters could not independently verify.
Some residents said they would not leave, remembering the "Nakba," or "catastrophe," when many Palestinians were forced from their homes during the 1948 war that accompanied Israel's creation.
"They are striking us but we are not going to leave our homes and we will not be displaced," said Shaheen, sitting at home with her grandchildren facing relentless Israeli bombardment and shortages of bread, drinking water and power.