An Israel Defense Forces Spokesman, Daniel Hagari, has confirmed that the death toll in the Middle East conflict now stands at about 3000 with 1,300, including 247 soldiers, on the Israeli side alone.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said at least 1,537 people had been killed in the Gaza Strip in Israeli airstrikes, including 500 children.
Thousands of others on both sides are injured.
Observers, then, expressed fear the figure may rise sharply should Israel go ahead with its planned ground operation against the Palestine militant Hamas.
It had ordered 1.1 million people in Gaza to evacuate, which observers interpreted as a sign that it was setting up a ground operation against the militant group.
However, Hamas vowed in a swift response that Palestinians would go nowhere.
A United Nations spokesperson said it is to evacuate civilians “without devastating humanitarian consequences,” and said the U.N. “strongly appeals for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded to avoid what transforming what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation.”
“Civilians of Gaza City, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families and distance yourself from Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields,” the Israeli military said, accusing Hamas of hiding in and under civilian buildings.
Israel said the horrific attack on its civilians meant it must annihilate the militant group and others must get out of the way.
Hamas tunnels, military compounds, senior operatives’ residences and weapons storage warehouses were among 750 military targets struck overnight, it said.
Israel has said it will not lift its blockade until scores of hostages captured by Hamas are set free.
The Red Cross has said hospitals could soon run out of emergency fuel.
International talks are focused on providing aid and safe zones in Gaza amid fears that the conflict could spread, with Iran warning of a response from its allies, which include Hamas and the powerful Hezbollah movement in Lebanon.
Pro-Palestinian protests were held around the world Friday and in some places, Jewish communities feared they could be targeted after Israel’s military response to the unprecedented weekend attacks that killed more than 1,300 people, mostly civilians.
Hamas, while responding to the Israeli quit warning, vowed that there would be nothing of the sort.
“We adamantly reject to be expelled from our homes once again. We will resist Israel’s attempt to ethnically cleanse Gaza,” it said.
It added, “Our unwavering determination is to resist Israel’s pursuit of ethnic cleansing in Gaza, firmly resolved to prevent a second Nakba from unfolding.
“The current developments in Gaza represent an extraordinarily audacious and brutal endeavour to forcibly remove the Palestinian indigenous people from their land. Israel has publicly declared its plan to commit genocide against Palestinians.
“The Zionist entity, supported by Western governments, has conducted a war of intense bombardment, releasing more than 6,000 bombs upon Gaza within the past week. Nearly 500 children have been tragically killed as a result of the intense bombardment, carried out by the Zionist entity.
“They have targeted mosques, a church, educational institutions, residences, and medical facilities with bombings, yet it is our people who are erroneously branded as terrorists. Today, we have seen the mobilization of millions in the Arab and Muslim world, extending their support to the courageous Palestinians in Gaza.
“What the Zionists are doing is inhumane, it is unprecedented, it is barbaric and contravenes all the laws and treaties that the so-called free and democratic countries claim they believe in.
“But our resolve is unbreakable. We will not surrender our legitimate fight for freedom and self-determination. We will either live standing tall or we will die fighting.”
By Friday afternoon, there was no sign of any mass exodus as Israel prepared its onslaught.
“Death is better than leaving,” said Mohammad, 20, standing in the street outside a building reduced to rubble in an Israeli air strike two days ago near the centre of Gaza.
“I was born here, and I will die here. Leaving is a stigma,” he added.
Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets after Friday Jumat in Muslim communities around world
Anti-Israel protests were held in a ‘day of jihad’ across the world today after former Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal asked Muslims to take to the streets to demonstrate amid the ongoing conflict.
From Iraq to Japan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, tens of thousands of protesters marched and showed support for Palestinians over the deadly conflict that followed last Saturday’s attack on Israel by Hamas..
During Friday’s protests, angry demonstrators burned Israeli and American flags.
Also Friday, US Secretary of State Antony met Jordan’s King Abdullah as well as Mahmoud Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank but lost control of Gaza to Hamas in 2007.
Blinken is also set to visit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates – some of the countries with influence on Hamas, which is backed by Iran.
Iran’s foreign minister met the head of Hezbollah, Hassan Nassrallah in Lebanon, where there have been cross-border clashes with Israel since the weekend, according to Lebanese media outlets.
“The continuation of war crimes against Palestine and Gaza will receive a response from the rest of the axis,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said.
The New York Police Department on Friday issued a red alert following planned protest by pro-Palestinians over the situation in the Middle East.
While reacting to the planned protest, the NYPD Chief, Rebecca Weiner, at a press conference Friday morning, said all operatives had been asked to report to work in their uniforms.
She said even those scheduled to be off had been called to work, noting that the move was to ensure increased police presence across the city
The police boss who stressed that there was no specific, credible threat from their analysis in the city, said the increased police presence was to assuage public panic that induced by the reports of the planned protest.
Police said every member of the department would be in uniform and ready to respond if need be, confirming that thousands of officers had been deployed to Times Square as well as schools and religious institutions.
