Israel allows Palestinians to flee north Gaza ahead of expected ground invasion

The Israeli military said its troops conducted temporary raids into Gaza to battle militants and hunted for traces of some 150 people abducted in Hamas’s shocking Oct. 7 assaulton Saturday after Israel ordered nearly half the population to flee south and carried out limited ground forays ahead of an expected land offensive, as the war appeared set to escalate a week after Hamas' bloody, wide-ranging attack into Israel., despite warnings from the U.N.

Lior Gelbaum, a 24-year-old dual U.S-Israeli citizen, told U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken what happened to her and others six days ago when Hamas attacked a music festival near Gaza where 260 were killed.Hamas told people to ignore the evacuation order. Families in Gaza faced what agonizing dillemas in deciding whether to leave or stay, with no safe ground anywhere.

Israel's raids into Gaza Friday were the first indication that troops had entered the territory since Israel began its round-the-clock bombardment in retaliation for the Hamas’ massacre. Palestinian militants have fired thousands of rockets into Israel since the fighting erupted.Israel has called up some 360,000 reserves and massed troops and tanks along the border, but no decision has been announced on whether to launch a ground offensive.

An Israeli spokesperson, Jonathan Conricus, said the military would take “extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians” and that residents would be allowed to return when the war is over. Josep Borrell, speaking to news media on a visit to China, welcomed the evacuation order, but said"you cannot move such a volume of people in short period of time,” noting a lack of shelters or transportation.

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