AceBreakingNews – The Israeli military has said Gaza City residents must not delay their departure before an expected ground offensive starts, as people leaving the north of the territory jammed roads south.

Ace Press News From Cutting Room Floor: Published: Oct.14: 2023: ABC LIVE NEWS: TELEGRAM Ace Daily News Link https://t.me/+PuI36tlDsM7GpOJe

Look back at the updates from the Israel-Gaza war on October 14

Israel has designated two safe routes for more than one million residents of northern Gaza to leave for the south of the blockaded territory:

Military spokesman Richard Hecht said there is a safe passage “window” between 10am (6pm Saturday AEDT) and 4pm (12am Sunday AEDT) on the roads, down the Gaza coast and through the centre of the narrow Palestinian territory, which is about 40 kilometres long.

There was no immediate announcement from either side of any change in the situation as the deadline expired. 

Without saying how many days the window would remain, Mr Hecht told reporters: “We know this is going to take time but we recommend people not to delay.”

Troops were massing around the Gaza Strip, “getting ready for the next stage of operations”, Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society also received an order from Israeli forces on Saturday with a new deadline to evacuate its Al-Quds hospital in Gaza City by 4pm local time, according to a statement.

However, the association said they cannot evacuate the hospital and it is obliged under a humanitarian mandate to continue providing services to the sick and wounded, the statement added.

Thousands of Gazans packed buses, cars and donkey carts on Saturday to escape the northern zone, where the bulk of Israeli air and artillery strikes have occurred.

Israel has faced calls from the United Nations, United States and European Union to delay an expected full offensive to give civilians time to leave.

The Israeli military has indicated that Gaza City will be the focus of its operations because this is the base for the Hamas leadership that it blames for the attacks last week that left at least 1,300 dead in Israel.

The Gaza Health Ministry said on Saturday that over 2,200 people have been killed in the territory, including 724 children and 458 women.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the situation in Gaza as “a dangerous new low”.

“Even wars have rules,” he added, as Israel faced accusations of collectively punishing Gazans for Hamas’s action last week.

“Civilians must be protected and also never used as shields,” Mr Guterres said.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza, while clashes in the occupied West Bank have killed 53 Palestinians in the past week.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spokeswoman Tal Heinrich told AFP: “Everything that happens in Gaza is Hamas’s responsibility.”

Lebanon border clashes

The violence in Gaza has been accompanied by the deadliest clashes at Israel’s northern border with Lebanon since 2006, raising fears of war spreading to another front.

Lebanon’s armed Hezbollah movement, a close ally of Iran like Hamas, said it had fired at five Israeli outposts in the disputed Shebaa Farms border area with guided missiles and mortar bombs.

Hezbollah “attacked Zionist positions in the occupied Lebanese Shebaa Farms … with guided missiles and mortar shells, hitting them,” the Shiite group said in a statement.A look at the armed Lebanese group who could join the war against Israel

Reuters saw missiles fired at an Israeli army post and heard shelling from Israel and gunfire.

On Friday, Reuters video journalist Issam Abdallah was killed in a missile strike on the Lebanese side of the border.

Lebanon’s army said the missile was launched by Israel. The Israeli military said it was investigating what happened.

Hezbollah and other Palestinian factions in Lebanon have exchanged cross-border fire with Israel since Hamas’s surprise October 7 attack on Israel.

News explained

What is Hamas?

Founded in 1987, Hamas is an Islamist political and paramilitary group formed as an offshoot of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, and backed by Iran. It opposes Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, advocates for the establishment of an Islamic state and does not recognise Israel’s right to exist.

News explained

What is the Gaza Strip?

The Gaza Strip, along with the West Bank, is one of the two major pieces of land that make up the Palestinian territories. It has been either directly occupied or blockaded by Israel since 1967. Internally, Hamas has held power since 2007, when it ousted its rival Fatah during a brief civil war. Home to more than 2.3 million people, the tiny territory is one of the most densely populated places in the world.

News explained

Why are Israel and Hamas at war now?

The cross-border terror attack by Hamas followed weeks of heightened tensions between Gaza and Israel, as well as heavy fighting in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif said the attack was a response to Gaza’s 16-year blockade as well as Israeli incursions at the al-Aqsa mosque.

Editor says …Sterling Publishing & Media Service Agency is not responsible for the content of external site or from any reports, posts or links and thanks for following as always appreciate every like, reblog or retweet and comment thank you