The morning of Saturday 7 October 2023, Palestinian organisations Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) from the Gaza Strip, both designated internationally as terrorist groups, attacked Israeli territory with thousands of missiles. Concomitantly, operatives of these two groups entered Israeli territory by land and sea and engaged in terror attacks. Preliminary reports released today indicate that more than 600 Israeli residents have been killed and more than 2,000 have been wounded. A further 100 Israelis are believed to be held hostages in Gaza.
Overnight, the government of Israel voted to put the country officially at war, meaning that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) will have the mandate to launch full-scale military incursions into Gaza. Most likely in anticipation of these military actions, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced residents of Gaza to leave the area. The Israeli government also announced it would begin the complete evacuation of Israelis living in towns near Gaza borders. These towns include Kfar Aza, Sufa, Nirim, and Alumim. More towns are likely to be evacuated in the upcoming hours.
These developments constitute early warnings of a full-scale military confrontation that Israel is planning into Gaza, one of the most densely areas in the world, with a population of 2.3 million people. The evacuation of Israeli towns is expected to last “24 hours” starting with this morning, which indicates that by Monday, the full scale Israeli incursion into Gaza will probably start.
To make things worse, Hashem Safi al-Din, head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, declared that Hezbollah and similar Iranian-backed terror groups in the Middle East are prepared to join Hamas and the PIJ in their terror campaign against Israel. In the West Bank, sporadic anti-Israel demonstrations have occurred but have been limited in scope thus far. The IDF already amassed troops along borders with Lebanon and the West Bank, launching artillery shells against Hezbollah targets in retaliation to earlier mortar attacks from the group’s bases in Lebanon.
A significant update for Israeli tourists located now in Middle Eastern countries is that they are also advised to practice caution and reach out for contact in case of need, especially following the attack in Egypt, where in Alexandria, two Israeli tourists were shot dead alongside their Egyptian tour guide earlier today.
Multiple airline companies have suspended their flights to and from Israel.
At present, only a few companies operate flights from the Tel Aviv airport, such as El Al, Israir, Arkia, Pegasus, and Turkish Airlines.
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