#Israel 's Energy Minister Israel Katz says the #siege of #Gaza will not end until #Israeli hostages are released.

In a social media post, Israel Katz said no "electrical switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter" until the "abductees" are free.

Israel stopped supplies to the #Gaza Strip after the #Hamas attacks on Saturday.

Milo described how the #Gaza Border community's security teams "have fought bravely," noting especially the female fighters and commanders' role in stopping #Hamas militants. They have all "demonstrated extraordinary fighting skills - If anyone had any other thoughts, I think what happened leaves no doubt about the combat capabilities of the #IDF female fighters."

Milo stressed that his command's current main task is the #evacuation of residents who are still in the Gaza-Border communities

Good morning from London, ~ half past 8 in MENA. A recap:

The number of Israelis killed by #Hamas has risen to 1,300, with at least 150 hostages taken into Gaza

More than 1,400 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched retaliatory air strikes, w 338,000 people displaced

#Netanyahu has told parliament that "difficult days await" at the swearing in of the war cabinet

The #UN says Gaza is facing a "dire" situation with food and water quickly running out

#Israel says they have dropped 6,000 bombs on #Hamas targets in #Gaza over the course of six days. The Israeli air force said #airstrikes have hit more than 3,600 targets

Human Rights Watch #HRW has accused Israel of using white phosphorus, a controversial munition, in its bombings of the Gaza Strip and #Lebanon.

Israel's military told Reuters that it was "currently not aware of the use of weapons containing white phosphorous in Gaza". It did not comment on Lebanon.

The #UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs #OCHA has issued an emergency appeal asking countries to provide $294m in emergency funding for the most urgent needs of #Palestinians

The funds will be used to help some 1.2m people, the agency said.

Acc to OCHA, more than 84,000 people in #Gaza became homeless on Thursday, the agency said, adding that there are now more than 423,000 people without shelter there
#Israel #hamas

The #Israeli military has told the #UN that everyone living north of Wadi Gaza should relocate to southern #Gaza in the next 24 hours, acc to a UN spox

The UN says this amounts to approx 1.1 million people - about half the population of the entire Gaza Strip. The affected area includes densely populated Gaza City.

The alert was given just before midnight local time
#Israel #hamas

The #UN "strongly appeals for any such ( #evacuation ) order to be rescinded avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation".

The order also includes all UN staff and those sheltered in UN facilities which includes schools, health centres, and clinics.

The UN Security Council #UNSC is due to hold an emergency meeting today in a closed consultation format.

"You will be able to return to Gaza City only when another announcement permitting it is made," Israeli officials said in the statement to Gaza residents.

The #evacuation order is part of #Israel 's "humanitarian measures" in the #Gaza Strip, says #IDF spox Jonathan Conricus:"Civilians are not our enemy."

He said the military wants to minimise civilian casualties as it strikes targets in the Gaza Strip, and that it remains fully committed to the laws of international armed conflict.

The US will today fly its first #repatriation flight to bring citizens home from #Israel

National Security spox John Kirby said they would also be looking into other ways to help citizens leave, by land or sea.

Argentina, France, South Korea, Australia and Canada - among others - have been evacuating their citizens throughout the week.

Japan has also announced it will send a chartered flight to Israel to evacuate Japanese citizens at the weekend

A #Hamas official has urged residents of the north of #Gaza to ignore it #Israel 's evacuation order

The militant group has long been criticised by the international community for using civilians as human shields - putting innocent people in danger to protect their fighters.

Hamas took power of the Gaza strip after it won the legislative elections in 2006, before reinforcing its power in Gaza the following year by ousting the rival Fatah movement of President Mahmoud Abbas.

'It is impossible for 1.1 million people to leave their homes within 24 hours', says #BBC corr Tom Bateman in Jerusalem.
'It would involve 40,000 people per hour. On the ground convoys of the International Red Cross and United Nations humanitarian agency staff have been spotted travelling south from #Gaza City towards the southern part of territory, which may be in preparation of possible evacuation operation.

But it would bring chaos to try to carry it out on this scale within 24 hrs'

GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING
'This is my community. I've seen things I can never unsee'

#Gaza City's main hospital, Al Shifa, is at breaking point, with hundreds of seriously injured people filling the hallways and bodies lying in corridors and outside, as staff work under immense pressure.

Inside, BBC Arabic's reporter Adnan Elbursh and his team discover their own neighbours, relatives and friends are among those injured and killed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-middle-east-67094214

GRAPHIC CONTENT
The #BBC 's Lucy Williamson has been to the site of the #Israeli music #festival where 260 bodies were discovered following an attack by #Hamas militants on Saturday. Gun shots rung out as journalists were allowed in the area for the first time, accompanied by the #Israeli military.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67094215

V forward:
Stanford instructor removed for targeting Jewish students as ‘colonizers’ after Hamas attack on Israel

https://forward.com/news/564587/stanford-university-jewish-students-instructor-hamas/

At least 13 #Israeli and foreign #hostages held in five locations in the #Gaza Strip have been killed in Israeli air strikes in the past 24 hours, Hamas’s armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.

Hamas took about 150 people captive in its attack on 7 October. It has threatened to kill hostages if civilians homes are bombed by Israel without warning.

As the reports came in, UK Def Sec Grant Shapps told ITV he would treat the claims with "caution" but "deep concern".

From #Ukraine president #Zelensky 's latest stmt:
"We can clearly see that our enemy, #Russia, is interested in the worst-case scenario in the Middle East.

I am grateful to everyone who works to keep the Middle East from further exploding, but also to hold terrorists accountable for everything they have done against Israel—against children and women, against ordinary people.

We also remember about the citizens of other countries who have been detained or killed by terrorists." (Cont)

"There are also Ukrainians among the dead. My condolences go out to everyone who has lost a loved one.

It is critically important—for everyone around the world including those who do not yet comprehend—that terrorists must always be held accountable for all the evil they have caused."

On the #hostages v i24news:
' #IDF has notified the families of 120 hostages being held by #Hamas in the #Gaza Strip'

Would it refer to #Israeli soldiers being kept as hostages?

Previously there was talk of about 150 people altogether taken from #Israel

#IDF entered #Gaza to search for hostages - #Israeli Airforce

The Israeli Airforce acct posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that over the last 24 hours the Israeli Army carried out "local raids" in the territory of the Gaza Strip. The post says:
"Infantry and armored forces searched and gathered in the area for findings that may help in the effort to locate the missing and thwarted terrorist infrastructure and terrorist cells found in the area."

The #ICRC has condemned the #hostage taking during the attacks on #Israel by #Hamas , saying "our hearts go out" to those who have lost family members or are worried about loved ones.

"We reiterate our call for their immediate release and stand ready to conduct humanitarian visits," the #RedCross said.

Their quote regarding the evacuation orders:

"The instructions issued by the Israeli authorities for the population of #Gaza City are not compatible with international humanitarian law"

Reuters says its videographer has been killed while working in southern #Lebanon:
"We are deeply saddened to learn that our videographer, Issam Abdallah, has been killed," the statement said.

Reuters journalists Thaer Al-Sudani and Maher Nazeh also sustained injuries and are seeking medical care, according to the statement.
#JournalismIsNorACrime

' #Hamas bears responsibility for what happens in #Gaza '-
says #Israel 's UN envoy

Gilad Erdan called on the UN to support Israel's order to evacuate Gaza:

"Hamas was democratically elected by the people of Gaza, we shouldn't forget this, don't look away," Erdan said.