Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
Israel's Military Announces A Brief Window For People In Northern Gaza To Flee South
Palestinians look at the destruction after Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip in Khan Younis, Nov. 4, 2023.
(
Fatima Shbair
/
AP
)
TEL AVIV, Israel — Hundreds of thousands of people still stuck in northern Gaza will have just three hours to flee south today, Israel's military announced Saturday.
The Israeli Defense Forces announced there will be a brief three-hour window (starting 1 p.m. local time until 4 p.m.) for people trapped in northern Gaza to travel on the road to southern Gaza safely.
The Israeli military said it will "avoid hitting" this main road heading south, but emphasized that this move is in no way a cease fire.
The United Nations estimates that there could be as many 300,000 internally displaced people still stuck in northern Gaza, including Gaza City — an area Israeli forces have surrounded as part of their ground operation.
Support for LAist comes from
It's been about a week since Israeli troops pushed into Gaza through a ground offensive and remained in the Strip. This military effort has mostly been focused in the north and has effectively cut the strip in half, preventing aid from getting in or civilians from getting out.
What we know so far
-
Death toll and casualties
- Israeli officials report an attack by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 killed about 1,200 people. In addition, they say about 250 people were taken hostage, some have since been released.
- Gaza health officials have reported more than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes.
— NPR (Jan. 24)
This order means civilians will most likely flee to the south of Gaza, with likely nowhere else to go.
Officials in Gaza also closed the one available border crossing from Gaza into Egypt on Saturday. They said foreign passport holders will not be allowed to leave Gaza through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt unless patients from the hospitals in Gaza City and northern Gaza are permitted to get to the crossing.
The crossing has been opened the past three days for Palestinians with foreign nationalities, or Palestinians with connections to foreign countries and foreign employers.
The list of people approved to leave Gaza today — in what would have been the fourth day for the border to be open — included more Americans.
Support for LAist comes from
Understanding how we got here
-
The history of this region is both complicated and fraught. Here is some context about what led up to the most recent attacks and counterattacks.
-
NPR's Aya Batrawy and Daniel Estrin called the initial attack "one of the most dramatic escalations in violence in recent memory" adding there are "concerns the chaos could spread to the occupied West Bank and different countries in the Middle East."
-
- This round of bloodshed began with a surprise attack by Palestinian fighters from Gaza into Israel during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. On Oct. 7, militants infiltrated Israel's border using paragliders, motorbikes and boats and fired thousands of rockets toward the country from Gaza.
-
NPR's Fatima Al-Kassab reported on the history of the Gaza Strip. Some key excerpts:
-
- The Gaza Strip is a 25-mile-long by 6-mile-wide enclave, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the north and east and Egypt to the south.
- Gaza is one of two Palestinian territories. The other is the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
- The strip has been under a blockade by Israel and Egypt, restricting the movement of people and goods since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. Israel controls its airspace and shoreline, as well as what goods can cross Gaza's borders.
-
NPR's Fatma Tanis examined how we got here and what might come next in this longstanding conflict.
-
For anyone looking for guidance on how to talk to children about this war:
-
Here's the latest on a growing movement on college campuses nationwide, as students organize against Israel's war in Gaza.
-
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit npr.org.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist