The #UN "strongly appeals for any such ( #evacuation ) order to be rescinded avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation".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.
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."
#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
The #Israeli military says it has struck a "terrorist target" in southern #Lebanon belonging to #Hezbollah
It says it acted after it intercepted two "unidentified targets" above #Haifa, close to the #Lebanese border, and after an unidentified UAV (drone) crossed into northern Israel.
In recent days Israeli forces have exchanged rocket fire with Hezbollah.
Like #Hamas, Hezbollah too has been designated a terrorist organisation by the UK, US and other countries.
Blinken has arrived in #Saudi Arabia , his fifth stop on a tour of Arab countries as he tries to prevent the conflict between #Hamas and #Israel from spreading to the region.
Blinken wants Arab states to clearly condemn Hamas and to also show restraint over Israel’s response.
But as he arrived in Riyadh, the Saudi foreign ministry issued its strongest criticism of Israel yet, condemning what it called the targeting of defenceless civilians.
#Gaza
It has just passed 5 AM in the Middle East, a quick recap of what is going on in #Gaza :
#Palestinian civilians have been fleeing northern Gaza by car, on the back of trucks and on foot after an #Israeli warning - about 1.1 million people living in northern areas have been told to leave ahead of an expected ground offensive by Israeli forces.
The UN described the order as horrendous, while the US urged #Israel to take every precaution to avoid killing civilians
And if you missed the last week in news:
#Hamas fighters kidnapped at least 150 people and took them into #Gaza during attacks on #Israel a week ago which killed at least 1,300 people
1,900 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched retaliatory air strikes, authorities say
A total blockade is being enforced on Gaza, with fuel, food and water running out
Kriszta Satori
Elizabeth Alcinoe