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© Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Civilians flee north Gaza as Israel agrees to 4-hour daily pauses in fighting
By WAFAA SHURAFA, BASSEM MROUE and JACK JEFFERY DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip©2025 GPlusMedia Inc.
61 Comments
Yrral
This is a fight to the death,for the soul of Palestine,I saw satellite pictures of the street of Gaza,they are deathtrap,you would be a fool to even attempt to try to occupy them,not knowing what lurk beneath them
Concerned Citizen
Wrong! This should read:
Gaza’s largest city is the focus of Israel’s campaign to crush the Palestiains.
Brutal, inhumane and evil.
Alfie Noakes
The genocide will be paused for 4 hours everyday to allow for ethnic cleansing.
Aly Rustom
Agree with all 3 of you
wallace
Netanyahu's final solution.
wallace
Hamas has lost control of Gaza City and North Gaza.
Attilathehungry
I am impressed by the generosity shown by Israel. It certainly exceeds the 'generosity' shown by the Hamas cowards when they were busy massacring Jewish women and children.
And you DARE to talk about ethnic cleaning…
Not to mention the credulity in blithely accepting whatever propaganda is pumped out by the Hamas controlled media in Gaza.
Fighto!
If confirmed, that is excellent news.
Now to try and eliminate the terrorists in the South. The Gazan people should not have their lives controlled by a death cult who squander all foreign aid on weapons - and none on essentials. Hamas party officials live like Kings in Qatar.
Attilathehungry
Agreed. There is no reason that Gaza cannot flourish, given the right conditions. First among them eliminating the medieval beliefs of Hamas and their ilk.
Sanjinosebleed
you're kidding right??? Currently about 20 times more Palestinian women and children have been slaughtered by your heroes in the IDF.!
They should be sent straight to the Hague for war crimes along with Netanyahu!
Chabbawanga
So... any muslims or arabs. You really are something else buddy.
Attilathehungry
Sanjin: the numbers are irrelevant, even if they were true. The Allies killed far more Germans in WW2 than they lost themselves. Does that mean the Allies werw wrong to utterly crush Germany?
Hamas started a war and will face the consequences. Gazan civilians are the unwitting pawns of Hamas. All are lucky to be given the chance at martyrdom, at least according to the brave Hamas leadership in their lux hotel suites in Qarar.
K3PO
As of Monday this week, 4,104 children have been killed in Gaza, 1,270 missing, probably buried in rubble.
Chabbawanga
If you ignore the 10s of millions of Russians who died fighting the Nazis.
Attilathehungry
Think of the aerial bombing- the Blitz by Germany on the UK killed about 70,000 civiluans. Allied bombing of German cities in retaliation killed 2 million. Were they wrong?
Moderator
Back on topic please.
GlobalObserver
So much for a rules based order.
GlobalObserver
And Hamas is going to fight a guerrilla war.
Yrral
This war will make Israel a third world country, because they cannot function economic as long as their is an Hamas threat, Israel has not entered the bowel of their demise in Gaza,it will bleed Israel economy dry ,they are losing 20million dollar a day,an cannot function without the threat of being attacked,almost 35 soldiers dead and almost 300 wounded since October 27
Antiquesaving
Since 2009 to before October 7th 2023 the IDF has killed over 6500 Palestinians more than half were women and children!
Many killed in the attacks on UN UNRWA schools, hospital and refugee camps this according to the UN.
Hamas and all Palestinian attacks in that same period killed fewer than 400 Israelis.
Since October 7th Hamas according to Israel has killed just under 1500 Israelis.
The IDF has killed well over 10,000 Palestinians with over half being children!
And again the IDF targeted UNRWA schools and camps killing children and teachers!
Who are the real cowards?
Who is actually doing the massacres?
The IDF since 2009 has killed 11 times more Palestinians.
Let me repeat that, the IDF has killed 11 times more Palestinians the vast majority women and children whit children alone being between 6,000 to 8,000 of those killed in that period.
So tell us again how Hamas or any Palestinian group are the real killers of children!
I am not even counting the Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank that kill with impunity and armed by Netanyahu and his gang.
Or the depriving the population in the west Bank of clean water by destroying water cisterns because they may take water that Israel says goes to the illegal settlers!
Chabbawanga
In some cases, yes, they were wrong. The fire bombing of Hamburg for example, and The bombing of Dresden, with no military significance, is arguably also a warcrime. Tens of thousands of innocent lives were lost. Also remember that many of these crimes are overlooked because the Allies won the war, and unfortunately history is written by the victor.
Antiquesaving
The strawman justification!
The world has changed, the countries involved especially Germany and UK have said these things were wrong, the UN and the world has since said doing such things is wrong and criminal!
But keep trying to justify genocide!
Remember you are the one that at every chance tries to demean Arabs, justify taking their land and said this:
"Random tribe of Arabs" what a nice description, it tells us everything we need to know about you and what you think!
yipyip
Conditions are worsening for tens of thousands of people sheltering there, said three people who had left the hospital to go south in the past two days.
Not to be believed.
The Hamas-run Interior Ministry, which has urged Palestinians to stay in their homes, has told media outlets not to circulate footage of people fleeing.
Listen to Hamas at one's detriment.
More than 1,400 people have died in Israel since the start of the war, most of them civilians killed by Hamas militants during their initial incursion. Israel says 32 of its soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the ground offensive began.
This is the only tragedy. Israel had a ceasefire up until Hamas broke it October 7. No mercy.
Yrral
Yip,if you are a Jew, bombing the people of Gaza,will not make you safer,but create another generation that wish for your demise, when you have the world turns against you,thing did not work well for the Jews of Europe,they are studying Israel,if Hamas is not pacified by Christmas,they will never be,time is not on Israel side, before someone else intervene
Antiquesaving
To those that keep calling people anti-Semitic because someone doesn't agree with Israel or its government.
Using the same logic, it must mean someone that doesn't like China and its government then must be anti-ethnic Chinese,
I don't like the government of Sudan, does that make me anti-black/anti-Muslim?
I don't like Russia or Ukraine, so I must be anti-Slav.
I don't like the government of Iran, so I must be anti-Persian/Farsi.
Funny how the only country in The world that cannot be criticized is Israel because according to certain people that means you hate Jews.
But then those same people will tell us that Israel is a multicultural democracy!
Which is it?
yipyip
The lesson in the real world is when a terrorist group and its supporters unprovokedly burn and behead babies, shoot the elderly and disabled as they eat breakfast at their kitchen tables, toss grenades in a room where a mother, father, and their children are huddling for protection, culminating in the massacre of 1400 people and the kidnapping of over 200 more people, then the victim, a sovereign, peaceful, democratic country, is going to warn civilians in advance to evacuate, because that country is going to defend itself to make sure such a savage murderous rampage does not happen again.
So, maybe don't vote for Hamas to be your leader. Maybe don't dance in the streets celebrating innocent civilian deaths. Leave your homes instead of acting as human shields for Hamas.
Or ignore such advice, at your own risk.
yipyip
So? I don't see the point.
Attilathehungry
The UN are liars.
And deeply corrupt.
Antiquesaving
Of course you don't! Because in your view and that of your leader Netanyahu the numbers of Palestinians kill were/are far too low, you would have wanted it to be much higher.
yipyip
The UNRWA said schools in Gaza have been used to store and launch rockets at Israel, especially in the 2014 Gaza war.
The UNRWA in 2017 said it found Hamas had dug tunnels underneath one of its schools.
The UNRWA in 2021 found tunnels under another Gaza school, which was struck by an IDF missile, while no one was in the building.
Conclusion--Gaza builds tunnels underneath schools from which to attack Israel and therefore are legitimate targets. Since Hamas broke the ceasefire on October 6, Israel has the right and the duty to defend itself no matter what it takes, and this involves destroying Hamas tunnels no matter where they may be and no matter the collateral damage, which, due to Israel's precision bombing, have been at a minimal.
wallace
Netanyahu's plan is to force the 2 million Arabs into Souther Gaza and take over the north. Then squeeze the Arabs into Egypt.
Chabbawanga
Damn... Who to believe?
Gene Hennigh
On the one hand, you have to consider the Hamas's purpose, and on the other hand, you have to consider the Israeli response, and on the other hand. . .I have 3 hands! I have 3 hands!
yipyip
Yeah--especially when the head of a UN group was thrown out of Gaza for stating that Israel launched precise strikes, and that a school was actually empty when it was hit.
Antiquesaving
We have some here claiming that once Hamas is gone. Gaza can rebuild and become some sort of paradise and that the people can live normally like other countries.
The problem with that is the West Bank.
Under Israeli control there has been no prosperity in the West Bank.
To be exact the illegal settlements have increased. The attacks on Palestinians buy settlers has increased with no ramification.
Even building cisterns for water supply to the west bank by the Palestinians is forbidden by Israel and on multiple occasions even UN sanctioned water facilities have been bulldozed and blown up by the IDF claiming they could be stealing water from the settlers.
This is the reality. There will be no paradise in Gaza. There will be no freedom in Gaza because there is none in the west bank. It is a de facto apartheid system where a fake self-rule is in place but Israel decides everything!
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/west-bank-settlers-violence-israel-palestinians-1.7019263
https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-razes-homes-water-tanks-in-disputed-west-bank-firing-zone/amp/
https://www.972mag.com/idf-destroys-9-water-tanks-in-parched-palestinian-village/
And there are plenty more examples going back decades!
bass4funk
So was the slaughter of 6 million innocent Jews.
Those are sadly the realities of war.
The most important objective overall was to defeat Germany and Japan and that is the only thing that mattered in the end.
bass4funk
Just a plan, nothing etched in stone, nothing concrete yet.
wallace
It's already happening.
itsonlyrocknroll
How these 4-hour daily pauses will be implemented, the manner in which monitoring will be carried out??
Then the question of the humanitarian conditions, referring to South Gaza, even basic sanitary conditions, water purity, food medicines to sustain life.
War cannot be sanitized, a call of duty switched on and off, the realities are bombed out rubble infested craters of misery, the ever present stench of death.
Israel will continue until Hamas is completely obliterated, however long it takes. Years if necessary.
The 4-hour daily pauses purely a political nod to Joe Biden's administration as gesture of humanitarian goodwill to give the people of Gaza a means of escape however slight.
The 7th October atrocities, the hostage taking have convinced the Israeli Government its people, its a fight for survival.
Gaza will be under total Israeli control, to much at stake, the so called two state solution consigned to dust.
If the result of next US Presidential Elections installs a Republican administration.
Then the fate of Hamas could just be a beginning.
wallace
North Gaza will be isolated and cut off and then totally destroyed.
Antiquesaving
Ah the Holocaust trump card!
This is the go to any time someone tries to criticize, Israel!
Did the Palestinians kill those 6 million?
No!
So why do you and others continually try bringing it up like it justifies Israel's killing of Palestinian children?
The Ottoman killed over a million Armenians,
The Germans killed over a million sinti and Romani.
Others have done similar things but they have nothing to do with this situation and not does the Holocaust!
But you are doing it in reverse.
In this case it is the Palestinians that are being massacred by the IDF and not just since October 7th.
Since 2009 over 6500 Palestinians have been killed by the IDF, vs 400 Israeli and over half of the Palestinians killed were women and children.
So under your view the international community should intervene to stop the massacres, which are by a large margin the killing of palestinian women and children.
Attilathehungry
Gaza and the West Bank can be separated. They are governed separately and pose different threats to Israel.
Gaza can prosper given time, space, and freedom from medieval tyranny. Great location, beautiful beaches, interesting history, a natural stop for anyone seeking to discover the marvels of the ancient world.
West Bank? Tougher question. Were conditions any better when it was ruled by Jordan? Certainly the PA is a large factor holding them back. No doubt Israel and the settlements are to blame too. But given that it is less than 20km from the border of the West Bank to Tel Aviv, it is only natural for Israel to have legitimate worries about security and safety.
jeffy
yipyip Today 10:56 am JST
There was a time when the “terrorist groups” were the Haganah, the Irgun and the Lohamei Herut, no doubt “heros” to some. So when you say, “the victim, a sovereign, peaceful, democratic country,” you are intentionally ignoring the fact that atrocious acts have been committed by both parties in this long conflict in order to justify the one you happen to favor in the fight. Remember though, “Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord, and fraudulent scales are not good” (Proverb 20:23). Sorry, I myself will continue to deplore the acts of both parties.
itsonlyrocknroll
Numbers?
Give or take a 1000? 10,000? Women or Children?
The point of no return has been reached and passed.
Stamp your feet, wave your flags, march to your hearts content, shout/scream, free Palestine!
Then what?
Hamas took a decision that signed Gaza death warrant, no amount of protest can turn the clock back now.
Can it!
bass4funk
You denying it didn't happen?
You can criticize Israel, now law against it, personally, I would criticize Hamas more and the people supporting a terrorist organization that thinks only of itself, its gaols and NO ONE else.
No, but who has a their boot on the necks of the Palestinian people? Hamas, so if Hamas really cared, why don't they allow the people to leave when they want, if they cared then why do they take the food, medicine and fuel from their own people they supposedly care about?
Sorry, Hamas was the one that uses their own people as human shields and builds their base right underneath a hospital?
Seems like your weak arguments are getting weaker, you start digging and going off-topic, stay with me now.
Ok, so the kidnapping of over 250 people, killing and beheading babies and killing 4000 people just having a good time is in some way a form of justification? Well, not working out for a lot of top Hamas leaders as they get picked off and rightfully put into permanent retirement.
I am doing nothing.
No, but Hamas fighters are, and again, casualties will happen. No one told Hamas to start this war, a war that they will never win, especially as long as the US exists.
When you hide behind human shields that will sadly happen.
The IC can't stop this, they can't even vote or won't declare that Hamas is a terrorist organization. So it is up to Israel to deal with this problem once and for all, getting rid of Hamas is the best thing for the people of Gaza.
Raw Beer
I'm sure all Israelis learned about WWII. So all the Israelis who are committing these war crimes today (bombing hospitals, ambulances....) cannot say they were only following orders. They will/should be held accountable for their crimes.
funkymofo
I always find it strange that some people will decry the attempted genocide of the Jews in the Holocaust and then blithely support Israel's continued attempt to do the same thing to the Palestinian people.
stormcrow
Israel expressly warned them to evacuate, but they didn’t.
If the IDF ordered me to evacuate, I would be gone immediately.
funkymofo
Israel.
Jeremiah
If only Hamas would unconditionally surrender. The fighting would be over immediately.
kintsugi
The wanton destruction of Gaza, and the killing of civilians, women, and children are unacceptable to the international world.
Antiquesaving
And then what?
A return to occupation. A return to Israel controlling everything in an apartheid system like it is still doing in the West Bank?
What's the next generation going to do of Palestinians? Just accept it. Basically slavery!
Attilathehungry
Antique; what do you mean by "a return to occupation"? Gaza was not occupied. Hasn't even been a single Jew in Gaza since 2005.
The next generation of Palestinians could thrive IF they throw off their medieval theocratic overlords. IF they educate their children about freedom instead of about killing Jews. IF they renounce terrorism and stand with the free nations of the world against it. Then, Gaza and the west bank could prosper.
Antiquesaving
OK Hamas is not to believe.
Lets use the UN.
Since 2009 to October 7th 2023 Israel IDF killed over 6,500 Palestinians with over half being women and children.
In that same period Israel says Hamas and other groups have killed just under 400 Israelis.
Now those are the UN and Israel numbers.
On top of this, a large portion of the Palestinian children killed were in supposedly safe UNRWA schools and facilities directly targeted by the IDF in 2009, 2011, 2014, 2015 etc...and in every case the UN says no militants or armed groups were present in those places or area!
Now let us hear you call the UN liars!