Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Israel said on Friday that civilians are heeding its warning to leave northern areas of the Gaza Strip as the country ramps up bombardment of the Palestinian enclave ahead of an expected ground invasion.
The Israeli military said it had issued the warning for the “safety” of residents, calling on them to “distance yourself from Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields”.
“The population of Gaza city has started moving south significantly in order to protect itself,” military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari told reporters.
The news came as the military built up significant forces around Gaza in preparation for what is likely to be one of the most complex and bloody military operations in Israel's history.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to destroy Hamas, which he said was “in many ways worse than ISIS”, after the operatives made unprecedented incursions into Israeli territory close to the Gaza border on Saturday morning, killing more than 1,300 people – mainly civilians – and taking at least 120 hostage.
The military said on Thursday that it had conducted a series of “localised raids” in Gaza to find information that “may help in the effort to locate the missing”.
UN humanitarian relief chief Martin Griffiths questioned the practicality of Israel's orders to Gazan civilians.
“How are 1.1 million people supposed to move across a densely populated war zone in less than 24 hours?” he wrote on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Friday.
“The noose around the civilian population in Gaza is tightening.”
The National's contributor Nagham Mohanna, who herself had been forced to leave her home in Al Rimal neighbourhood in Gaza's north, said many people have taken little with them when they fled.
“Not everybody has relatives in other areas who they can stay with. UNRWA [UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] schools are filled to the brim with people,” she said.
“Some people simply have nowhere to go. Some are just staying in their cars. Others are sat out on the streets.”
Mohanna's sister had also learnt that the building she was staying in had been completely destroyed.
“It's devastating,” she said.
Having fled to the southern part of the Strip, Mohanna said what she has been through is “indescribable”.
“This is a brutal enemy and what they want is to scare people into displacement,” Gaza resident Abu Azzam told AFP. “But, God willing, we will remain steadfast in the face of any displacement.”
Another resident, Mohamed Khaled, 43, also said he would stay.
“What does the world want from us? I am a refugee in Gaza and they want to displace me yet again? What will we do in Rafah?” he asked, referring to the city at the far south of the enclave, 40 kilometres from Gaza city.
“Sleep on the streets with our children? We won't do it. I don't want this humiliating life.”
In the northern refugee camp of Al Shati, people refused to flee their homes and instead opted to take to the streets in protest against the Israeli strikes on Gaza.
“Today, we don't know, where do we go?” 24-year-old Mohamed Abu Ali from Al Shati camp said, standing in front of an UNRWA office.
“There is nowhere safe. We went to the United Nations for refuge. Israel is committing massacres today against civilians and our children are under the rubble.
“We don't know what to do. We have no food and no water. I ask the UN in front of its headquarters: where do we go?”
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
Company profile
Name: Fruitful Day
Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie
Based: Dubai, UAE
Founded: 2015
Number of employees: 30
Sector: F&B
Funding so far: Dh3 million
Future funding plans: None at present
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
Leeds United 0
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Abu Dhabi GP starting grid
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
4 Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
5 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
6 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
7 Romain Grosjean (Haas)
8 Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
9 Esteban Ocon (Force India)
10 Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
11 Carlos Sainz (Renault)
12 Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
13 Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
14 Sergio Perez (Force India)
15 Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
16 Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
17 Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
18 Stoffe Vandoorne (McLaren)
19 Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
20 Lance Stroll (Williams)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Federer's 19 grand slam titles
Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal
French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling
Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic
US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
MATCH INFO
Qalandars 109-3 (10ovs)
Salt 30, Malan 24, Trego 23, Jayasuriya 2-14
Bangla Tigers (9.4ovs)
Fletcher 52, Rossouw 31
Bangla Tigers win by six wickets
