Israel-Palestine war: First week ends with over 2,500 Palestinians, 1,400 Israelis killed
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An Israeli army official has ordered the forced removal of Palestinians living in north Gaza, saying that they would not be allowed to return ‘until we say so’ and until ‘a statement is issued allowing this.’
Millions of Palestinians from the north of Gaza have already been displaced.
MEE’s correspondent Maha Hussaini has already left her home in the north following the orders of forced removal.
Another MEE reporter on the ground said that it currently "looks like a second Nakba," and that "many families are now leaving their homes."
Israeli police are deploying additional forces in Jerusalem in preparation ahead of Friday prayers at al-Aqsa.
The Friday prayers will mark the first since the start of the war
Over 2,500 Israeli police force officers will be around the Old City.
A Palestinian father and son were killed in a hail of bullets on Wednesday when Israeli settlers opened fire on a funeral procession in the occupied West Bank.
Videos of the incident appeared to show a car of settlers swerving into the path of the funeral procession near the town of Qusra before stopping and spraying the mourners with live ammunition.
To read the full story, click below.
Father and son killed in hail of bullets as settlers open fire at funeral
As Israel issued a warning for one million Palestinians in northern Gaza to evacuate to the south, Israeli air strikes have hit several areas across the besieged enclave, according to Palestinian media reports.
The UN Palestinian Refugee Agency has relocated its operations centre to the south of Gaza, after Israel warned the UN and the more than one million Palestinians north of Wadi Gaza to relocate to the enclave's south.
"We urge the Israeli Authorities to protect all civilians in UNRWA shelters including schools," the agency said on X.
Israel's military is telling residents of Gaza City to evacuate southwards, saying it would "continue to operate significantly" in the city, which it called "an area where military operations take place", according to a report from Reuters.
The military also warned Palestinian residents of Gaza not to approach an area near a fence with Israel, saying residents would be able to return only after permission was announced.
Gaza's government media office told Palestinians in Gaza that the Israeli warnings are false propaganda, and urged residents to not respond to them.
Gaza's government media office has said that Israel's warning to the UN and the one million-strong population of northern Gaza to evacuate is false propaganda, and urged Palestinians not to fall for it.
Israel has told the United Nations to evacuate its staff and notify the more than one million Palestinians living north of Wadi Gaza that they should evacuate to the southern part of Gaza within the next 24 hours.
"The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement, calling for the Israeli order to be reversed.
The warning was given just before midnight local time, according to Axios.
Israel has been conducting a heavy bombing campaign on Gaza this week, with air strikes killing at least 250 people on Thursday morning alone. The warning to evacuate has raised fears that an Israeli ground operation into Gaza is imminent.
Ghassan Abu Sitta, a British-Palestinian doctor, travelled to Gaza on Monday in order to aid the besieged enclave's medical facilities.
Abu Sitta, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, said that he was among the last group of people that was able to make it in via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, before the area around it was bombed by an Israeli air strike.
"Thirty to forty percent of the wounded are children," Abu Sitta said in an interview with CNN. "The devastating thing is with children, this is a lifetime worth of reconstructive surgery as that scarred body tries to grow in the future."
When LeBron James - dubbed one of the greatest basketball players of all time - released a statement on Wednesday about Israel with his business partner, Maverick Carter, fans went berzerk.
“What part in Malcolm’s autobiography told you it’s okay to support oppression?” one person said.
The fan backlash against James and other athletes who put out pro-Israel stances appears to provide insight into where many fanbases stand.
To read the full story, click below.
US sports stars ignore Palestinians in pro-Israel posts, face fan backlash
The White House is rebuking progressives in Congress for calling for a ceasefire and showing sympathy and concern for the loss of innocent Palestinian life.
"It's pretty obvious at this point that the White House doesn't care how many Palestinians die, civilians or otherwise," one congressional aide working on efforts for a ceasefire push told Middle East Eye.
For the full story, click below.
White House condemns progressives for caring about Palestinians
Several Palestinian media outlets have reported that at least 17 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli bombing in the Bureij refugee camp, which is located in central Gaza.
