Over 70 killed after Israeli strikes hit civilians fleeing Gaza | World News
At least 70 civilians, mostly women and children, have been killed in an airstrike by Israeli forces while attempting to flee Gaza.
As many as 200 people have also been injured by the strikes after three convoys carrying evacuees were struck while heading towards southern Gaza Valley after being given 24 hours to vacate the area by Israeli forces.
Hamas officials initially reported the strikes, which have since been corroborated by the Palestinian Health Authority and independent journalists.
Now shocking footage of the aftermath (warning: graphic content) of the strikes has emerged, depicting a bombed-out street littered with burning cars and bloodied bodies as a survivor makes their way through the wreckage.
Meanwhile, sirens can be heard in the distance while a truck loaded with dead or wounded bodies can be seen driving past.
It is not yet clear who the intended target of the airstrikes was, or whether militants were among the passengers.
Following initial reports of the strikes, IDF Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner told Sky News the IDF is ‘looking into the circumstances’
‘I’m not aware of any IDF strikes at this time to that location but we will be updating throughout the day,’ he said.
However, Col Parker also claimed that ‘Hamas was booby trapping roads’ and that ‘we need to be cautious in judging before we know the facts’.
Israeli air raids have killed at least 256 people, including 20 children, and wounded 1,788 others in the last 24 hours, according to hospitals in Gaza.
Thousands of Palestinians have since fled to southern Gaza in search of refuge on Friday after Israel called for 1.1 million of them to evacuate ahead of an expected ground offensive.
But the evacuation order has been condemned by the United Nations and the World Health Organisation, who have called on Israel to revoke the order immediately, saying it will result in a humanitarian disaster whether people can flee or not.
‘The noose around the civilian population in Gaza is tightening. How are 1.1 million people supposed to move across a densely populated warzone in less than 24 hours?’ U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths wrote on social media.
A statement from the World Health Organisation said: ‘WHO joins the wider United Nations in appealing to Israel to immediately rescind orders for the evacuation of over 1 million people living north of Wadi Gaza.
‘A mass evacuation would be disastrous—for patients, health workers and other civilians left behind or caught in the mass movement.’
Meanwhile, Hamas officials responded by telling people to stay put and ‘defeat the occupation’, describing the Israeli orders as ‘fake propaganda’.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also made a rare public statement to condemn the evacuation claiming such a directive was a violation of international law.
‘Instructions issued by the Israeli authorities for the population of Gaza City to immediately leave their homes, coupled with the complete siege explicitly denying them food, water, and electricity, are not compatible with international humanitarian law,’ the statement read.
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