The Ministry for National Heritage said on Friday that Valletta’s status as a UNESCO World Heritage site is not at risk, responding to media reports which were subsequently reproduced on foreign news sites claiming that the capital city’s title is under threat. 

The Ministry also denied allegations that the Maltese government has failed to carry out the necessary work to preserve this prestigious title.

“During this legislature, the government appointed a group of experts, including a ‘site manager’ as requested by the Convention, to carry out the work required to draft a ‘management plan,’ as well as other technical reports requested by UNESCO,” a statement read.

It said that this work, which involved numerous consultation meetings, on-site research, and literature related to the field, is now in the approval stage by national structures before it is submitted to UNESCO.

“It should be noted that the need for these reports is not unique to Valletta but applies to every site recognized as UNESCO World Heritage. Furthermore, during this year, UNESCO has received a “state of conservation report” and the “periodic reporting” requested, both of which were adopted by the international organization,” it said.

It is not true that Valletta was, or is, being considered to be delisted as a World Heritage site during the meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, or at any other time, the Ministry said.

On the contrary, UNESCO has recognized, among other things, the work carried out on the conservation and restoration of buildings in Valletta over the past years, as well as the technical studies and work done, it said. 

The recommendations of the World Heritage Committee are public and can be viewed at https://whc.unesco.org/archive/2023/whc23-45com-7B.Add2-en.pdf and https://whc.unesco.org/en/sessions/45COM/documents.

“The Maltese government maintains open and strong relations with UNESCO and is always willing to carry out any studies, plans, and documentation that are requested to further strengthen the heritage of our capital city,” the Ministry said.

It added that government takes pride in the status of Valletta and will continue to work to increase awareness and the appreciation of Valletta, as well as to safeguard and enrich the interests of the Maltese population, the community in Valletta in particular.

400 students will start the school year in a new primary school in Rabat, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Robert Abela on Friday.

During his visit to the school, Abela praised the environment and the fully equipped facilities that is needed for students’ education.

Abela said that this school, along with two others inaugurated this year, are not just places for formal learning but spaces to nurture children’s talents, taking them beyond the basic curriculum. 

The school in Rabat includes, among other things, art and music classrooms, a multi-sensory room, an indoor gym, and all the resources needed to prepare students for the digital age. 

By 2024, Abela said that more projects of this kind will be completed, pledging efforts to strengthen the economy and ensure that the country's children have a bright future. 

The Ministry for Education has also received a budget of €847 million for this year, a statement read.

The new school in Rabat, with its 33 classrooms, was created with an investment of €3.5 million. 

Abela expressed government's commitment to providing the best possible education so that everyone can reach their potential, and encouraged students to challenge the status quo, foster innovation, and use new technologies to shape Malta's future. 

Abela also had a discussion with sixth-grade students on various topics, including community welfare, the environment, and their aspirations. 

Education Minister Clifton Grima said that the investment in Rabat Primary School has transformed it into a state-of-the-art institution, designed to meet all the necessary requirements. 

He said that these projects are regenerating the education sector, and that the investment in the education sector is unprecedented. 

Grima said that this is a state-of-the-art project, ensuring that the students in this school have the best environment to receive the best education possible. 

Present at the inauguration were Permanent Secretary Matthew Vella, Principal of St. Nicholas College Josephine Mifsud, and School Head Dorita Maniscalco.

A man armed with a knife killed a teacher and wounded another teacher and a security guard on Friday at a high school in northern France, an attack being investigated as potential terrorism.

Antiterror prosecutors said they were leading the investigation into the attack at the Gambetta high school in the city of Arras, some 115 miles (185 kilometers) north of Paris.

Sliman Hamzi, a police officer who was one of the first on the scene said the suspected attacker, a former student at the school, shouted “Allahu akbar,” or “God is great” in Arabic.

Hamzi said he was alerted by another officer who was passing in front of the high school and called in. He “was shouting ‘someone is attacking with a knife,’” Hamzi said

Hamzi said he rushed to the school and saw the victim who died lying on the ground outside the school and the attacker being taken away.

“Colleagues arrived quickly but unfortunately couldn’t save the victim,” Hamzi said.

School attacks are rare in France. President Emmanuel Macron was heading to the scene along with the interior and education ministers, and the government asked authorities to heighten vigilance at all schools across the country.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said that the suspected attacker had been arrested.

Julie Duhamel, an official with the the Unsa teachers’ union in the Pas-de-Calais region that includes Arras, told franceinfo that teachers had noted the suspect’s radicalization “a few years ago.” Franceinfo, quoting a police source, said the the suspect’s brother was also arrested.

Parents said pupils were still confined to the locked-down school more than two hours after the attack.

Friday's attack came three years after a teacher was beheaded outside a school in suburban Paris. Samuel Paty, a history and geography teacher, was murdered on Oct 16, 2020 — also a Friday — by an 18-year-old of Chechen origin who had become radicalized.

Martin Doussau, a philosophy teacher at the Gambetta high school, said the attacker appeared to be hunting for a history teacher.

“I was chased by the attacker who ... asked me if I teach history. (He said), ‘Are you a history teacher, are you a history teacher?'" said Doussau, who recounted how he barricaded himself behind a door until police used a stun gun to subdue the attacker.

“When he turned around and asked me if I am a history teacher, I immediately thought of Samuel Paty,” Doussau told reporters.

The attack came amid heightened tensions around the world over Hamas' weekend attack on southern Israel and Israel's military response, which have killed hundreds of civilians on both sides. There have been calls in Muslim nations for mass protests after Friday prayers over Israel’s intense bombing campaign in Gaza.

Darmanin on Thursday ordered local authorities to ban all pro-Palestinian demonstrations amid a rise in antisemitic acts since the Hamas attack.

France is estimated to have the world’s third-largest Jewish population after Israel and the U.S., and the largest Muslim population in Western Europe.

A vice president of France's lower house of parliament, Naima Moutchou, said the National Assembly “expresses its solidarity and thoughts for the victims, their families and the educational community as we learn that a teacher has been killed and several others have been injured.″

The Ministry for Justice has today issued a public call in the Government Gazette for the appointment of five new magistrates, which include four additional magistrates and one magistrate to fill the position of a magistrate who will be appointed judge.

The statement from the Ministry said that this step, taken after discussions with the Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti, aims to strengthen the judiciary in line with the government's electoral programme.

This addition to the judiciary is intended to satisfy the first phase of reforms in the field of magisterial inquiries, it said. 

With the addition of four extra magistrates, the Chief Justice will have the authority to appoint four magistrates dedicated specifically to magisterial inquiries.

Justice Minister Jonathan Attard said that this decision and investment will provide a stronger foundation for further reforms in the sector, with the ultimate goal of achieving a more efficient justice system.

He said that this will be the first phase of a comprehensive reform, and the next step is to open public consultation for the legislative and administrative reform.

“This increase, following the recent call for three new judges, will further strengthen the judiciary, which is already the largest in the history of our courts. It will also lead to an increase in the number of judges relative to the population, as calculated in international assessments of judicial systems,” the statement read.

Interested individuals should submit their applications with all the required documents no later than Monday, 30 October, 2023, by 1:00pm, to the Secretary of the Judicial Appointments Committee, at the Courts of Justice, in Valletta.

The UHM Voice of the Workers said in a statement Friday that the new Public Service disciplinary regulations do not address serious issues that have persisted for many years.

“This is despite the UHM persistently insisting on the necessary amendments,” it said.

The union said that one of the key amendments that were made is that public officials should be suspended with half of their basic pay when under investigation or facing a criminal process.

The UHM said that through the fundamental principle of justice, where a person remains innocent until proven guilty, it has consistently stressed that the discipline process should ensure that an individual is suspended with a full salary, including all fixed allowances, and that these payments are made regularly with each salary.

“This point has been raised in various forums, including in explanations of the new discipline regulations, in various Budget proposals over the years, as well as during a meeting where the UHM expressed its reaction to the revision of these regulations,” it said.

It continued that the amendments made to the Public Service discipline regulations, published on 1 October, have not addressed this point, to the extent that they stipulate that an employee who is suspended should receive 80% of their basic pay, and in none of these cases should this be less than the minimum wage.

“The UHM is not ruling out taking further action to rectify this injustice, especially after the government ignored the UHM's proposal to respect the principle that a person remains innocent until proven guilty,” it said.

Three local NGOs - Rota, Moviment Graffitti and Friends of the Earth Malta - on Friday condemned the approval given by the Planning Authority for the Msida Creek Project.

Describing it as a “terrible” decision, in a statement the NGOs said the Msida Promenade with its surrounding businesses is an important public open space available within walking distance for Msida and Pietà residents. It is a natural valley right in between two of the largest education institutions (University and Junior College), hospitals, startups and some of the busiest business and residential centres.

A large number of commuters travel between these areas every day, many of whom are youths or elderly, as well as residents and visitors who seek alternatives to private vehicles. There is a large flow of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users on a daily basis, the NGOs said.

Over the past 3 years, our organisations have provided in-depth feedback on the project, through numerous meetings, articles and actions. An improvement was evident to the 2019 version, and our first reaction was positive. The proposed bridges with lifts to cross a road were removed. However, we cannot compare what was previously proposed with what is currently being proposed. We need to compare the existing scenario with what is currently being proposed.

The project still lacks basic connectivity for alternative transport users, including pedestrians, bus users, cyclists and wheelchair users. Instead of prioritising active and public transport, and place-making for a village square, the project has fundamentally wrong objectives, inviting more through-traffic by prioritising improved traffic flow and increased parking spaces. The project even goes against the government's 35 million project to create a cycling network in the central region of Malta. We are against the construction of a flyover in the middle of a residential and urban area. It is a terrible planning decision

The residents and business communities surrounding Msida Creek would benefit from a high-quality urban environment that allows for recreation and physical activity, which improves and supports public health and social wellbeing. Instead of another traffic island, the area could be an attractive place for retail and leisure activities, inviting people to spend time in the area and socialise.

The procurement process for Malta’s waste-to-energy facility is in its final stage with a recommended bidder selected to build and operate the plant for 20 years being announced, Wasteserv said Friday.

The conclusion of the standstill period will then be followed by contract signature and the commencement of concrete works for which a full development permit has already been obtained.

The procurement process yielded three high-quality compliant bids from the participating consortia, all of which are of great international repute in the Waste-to-Energy field - Hitachi Zosen Inova AG – Terna S.A., FCC Medioambiente Internacional S.L.U, and Paprec Energies International-BBL Malta, with the Paprec consortium securing ‘recommended bidder status’.

The waste-to-energy facility will be processing 192,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste per year, which waste will be converted into green energy.

By the time work starts gearing up on-site for this crucial infrastructural project, WasteServ also expects to have two other major tenders on the market, one for a new EU-funded Organic Processing Plant and the other for a Skip Management Facility.

All are in line with the ECOHIVE strategy and are intended to allow Malta to move towards a fully circular economy in the waste management field, the agency said.

Prime Minister Robert Abela highlighted the need for accountability and seriousness to go hand in hand in the construction sector.

During the Annual General Meeting of the Malta Developers Association (MDA), Abela spoke about the developments and the strategic changes happening within this industry at a time f economic transition.

Speaking about the future of the construction sector, the Prime Minister gave importance to the seriousness, accountability and respect that he said is to be prioritised. He referenced the recent reform on the licensing of contractors as an example of this, calling it a deliberate change that must be accompanied by these values in workplaces.

Abela also mentioned the importance of what he described as environmental change occurring in this sector and its potential benefits. “This environmental transition can offer a sea of opportunities as much for investors as it can for the country,” the PM stated, mentioning the ideas for new buildings to be carbon-neutral when possible.

In this light, two carbon-neutral government projects were referenced, namely the Floriana Project House and the Nadur Primary School that was inaugurated by the Prime Minister alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the end of September.

The Prime Minister then mentioned the importance of innovation and skills to be emphasised in order to extract the full potential out of employees and their modern machinery.

PM Abela said that our country is now in a luxurious position through which it can look to prioritise quality over quantity and numbers. He stated that the Maltese islands should also focus on retaining the identity of local villages.

“There is a need to further value those elements that are intrinsically Maltese and Gozitan by taking care of our villages,” said Abela. He then elaborated that an eye should be kept looking towards the future, so that future generations may be able to appreciate what we have left behind for them.

He also talked about the Government’s responsibility to continue facilitating these changes to ensure certainty and stability, and that seriousness and accountability should not necessarily lead to bureaucracy.

The Israeli military prepared for a possible ground invasion in Gaza on Thursday as it pounded the tiny coastal strip in retaliation for the unprecedented weekend attack on Israel by the militant group Hamas.

In a deliberate show of support for Israel, a U.S. official confirmed that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin plans to visit on Friday, a day after Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Suffering in Gaza, meanwhile, rose dramatically with Palestinians desperate for food, fuel and medicine and the territory’s only power plant shut down for lack of fuel. The morgue at Gaza’s biggest hospital overflowed Thursday as bodies came in faster than relatives could claim them.

Israel said Thursday that a complete siege would remain in place until Hamas freed 150 hostages taken during its incursion. Egypt has engaged in intensive talks with Israel and the United States to allow the delivery of aid and fuel through its Rafah crossing point, which remained closed on both sides Thursday.

The war has claimed at least 2,800 lives on both sides, and displaced 423,000 people in Gaza.

Here's what's happening on Day 7 of the latest Israel-Hamas war:

Israel’s military ordered hundreds of thousands of civilians living in Gaza City to evacuate Friday ahead of a feared Israel ground offensive. The directive came on the heels of what the United Nations said was a warning they received from Israel to evacuate 1.1 million people living in northern Gaza within 24 hours.

Suffering in Gaza has been rising dramatically with Palestinians desperate for food, fuel and medicine and the territory’s only power plant shut down for lack of fuel. The morgue at Gaza’s biggest hospital overflowed as bodies came in faster than relatives could claim them.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Israel on Friday, a day after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The war has claimed at least 2,800 lives on both sides since Hamas launched an incursion on Oct. 7.

Here's what's happening on Day 7 of the latest Israel-Hamas war:

SOUTH KOREAN AND OTHER ASIAN NATIONALS EVACUATE FROM ISRAEL

SEOUL, South Korea — A South Korean military plane evacuating 220 South Korean and other Asian nationals from Israel has departed Tel Aviv and was expected to land in South Korea later Saturday, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said.

The people transported on the KC-330 military transport plane included 163 South Koreans, 51 Japanese nationals and six Singaporean nationals, the ministry said.

South Korea had also sent a civilian plane earlier this week to evacuate 192 South Korean nationals. About 470 South Koreans remain in Israel, most of them long-term residents who have chosen to stay.

No South Korean casualties have so far been reported from the violence in Israel and Gaza.

16 PALESTINIANS KILLED IN WEST BANK, HEALTH MINISTRY SAYS

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported 16 Palestinians killed Friday in the occupied West Bank, bringing to 51 the total number of West Bank Palestinians killed since Hamas waged its brutal assault on Israel last Saturday.

The United Nations says attacks by Israeli settlers have surged there since the Hamas assault.

RELATIVES OF ABDUCTED ISRAELIS PLEAD FOR WORLD'S HELP

UNITED NATIONS — Relatives of Israelis abducted during Hamas militants’ attack last weekend pleaded at the U.N. on Friday for the world’s help getting their loved ones home.

Speaking by video from Israel, Yoni Asher told diplomats at an Israel-organized event that he hasn’t slept or eaten since his wife and two small daughters vanished Saturday while visiting his mother-in-law in the country’s south.

His wife called to tell him that they were locked in a safe room after people came into the house and she heard gunshots, Asher said. He said he later saw a video of his wife and daughters, who are under 5 and 3, being loaded into a vehicle, and he tracked his wife’s phone to Gaza.

“I don’t know if I got any more tears left,” he said. “I’m exhausted, and I just want to approach whoever can hear me in the international community. Please bring back my baby girls.”

Hamas fighters took 150 hostages during Saturday’s surprise assault. Alana Zeitchik said a half-dozen of her cousins were snatched from a kibbutz. They were known to be alive as of Friday morning, she said.

“We don’t want more bombs or rockets or blood or tears,” said Zeitchik, who lives in New York. “We want our family back immediately. And we want peace.”

BIDEN SAYS ADDRESSING HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IN GAZA IS A PRIORITY

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Friday that it’s a priority of his administration to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Speaking at an event in Philadelphia to promote a $7 billion program to kickstart development and production of hydrogen fuel in the U.S., Biden paused to note the deteriorating situation for Palestinians as Israel continues to bombard the strip in retaliation for last weekend’s attacks on Israel.

Biden said he’s directed his team to work with the governments in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab nations and the United Nations to surge humanitarian relief to those impacted by the war.

“We can’t lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians had nothing to do Hamas,” Biden said. “And they’re suffering as a result as well.”

Biden again lashed out at Hamas, saying the militant group in control of Gaza makes the terrorist group Al-Qaida “look pure.”

ISRAELI MILITARY LAUNCHES DRONE AT HEZBOLLAH TARGETS

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military has announced that an Israeli drone is currently striking Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

ISRAELI SHELLING ALONG LEBANON BORDER KILLS 1 JOURNALIST, WOUNDS 6

ALMA Al-SHAAB, Lebanon — An Israeli shell has landed in a gathering of international journalists covering clashes on the border in south Lebanon, killing one and leaving six injured.

An Associated Press photographer at the scene saw the body of the dead journalist and the six who were wounded. Some of them were rushed to hospitals in ambulances. One nearby car was charred.

Al-Jazeera identified two of its employees among the wounded. The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing sporadic acts of violence since Saturday’s attack by the militant Palestinian group Hamas on southern Israel.

ISRAEL MILITARY SAYS IT HAS CARRIED OUT SMALL RAIDS INTO GAZA STRIP

JERUSALEM — The Israeli military says for the first time that ground troops have been operating inside the Gaza Strip.

In a statement Friday, the army said troops had entered Gaza to battle militants, destroy weapons and search for evidence about the missing hostages held by Hamas.

The announcement did not appear to be the beginning of an expected ground invasion of Gaza. Israel has been massing troops along the Gaza border since last Saturday’s deadly incursion by Hamas militants.

WHITE HOUSE MEETS VIRTUALLY WITH FAMILIES OF MISSING AMERICANS

WASHINGTON — The White House hosted a virtual conversation on Friday with family members of 14 Americans who are unaccounted for after the Hamas attacks on Israel.

President Joe Biden addressed the families. Other participants included Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser; Roger Carstens, hostage affairs special envoy; John Bass, undersecretary of state; and Brett McGurk, National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East.

EGYPT CALLS ON UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO STOP THE EVACUATION IN GAZA

CAIRO — In a statement Friday, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry condemned the Israeli army’s decision to tell some 1 million people in Gaza to evacuate toward the southern part of the besieged territory.

It said the move “constitutes a grave violation of the rules of international humanitarian law, and will expose the lives of more than a million Palestinian citizens and their families to the dangers of remaining in the open without shelter.”

The evacuation order comes ahead of an expected ground invasion, hiking fears of a massive influx of refugees across the heavily fortified border into its territory.

In the statement, Egypt called on the United Nations Security Council, which is scheduled to meet Friday, to stop the evacuation.

PALESTINIAN ENVOY SAYS EVACUATION ORDER COULD COMPARE TO DISPLACEMENT OF HUNDREDS IN 1948

UNITED NATIONS — The Palestinian envoy to the United Nations says his people’s mass exit from northern Gaza under Israeli military orders may compare to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians amid the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation — an event that Palestinians call the “nakba,” or catastrophe.

Ambassador Riyad Mansour called the current flight “potentially a second nakba" as he spoke to reporters at U.N. headquarters Friday before a meeting of Arab countries’ ambassadors.

The Israeli military told people to leave northern Gaza ahead of an expected ground invasion against the Hamas militants who launched an assault on southern Israel last weekend. While the evacuation order involves the northern part of the territory, Mansour said “there is no place in Gaza that is safe.”

He called for a ceasefire to allow food, medicine and water into the territory.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ACCUSES ISRAEL OF USING WHITE PHOSPHORUS

LONDON — Human Rights Watch has called on Israel to stop using munitions containing white phosphorus in the Gaza Strip after verifying video and witness accounts of these “indiscriminate” incendiary weapons being used in densely populated areas.

White phosphorus catches fire spontaneously when it comes in contact with oxygen, releasing toxic fumes and generating temperatures of up to 815 degrees Celsius (1,500 Fahrenheit). Because it continues to burn until all of the material is used up or it is smothered, white phosphorus exposure can leave victims with permanent disabilities, scarring and chronic pain.

“The issue is that white phosphorus is indiscriminate,’’ Yasmine Ahmed, the U.K. director of Human Rights Watch, said Friday. “It is used in a way that it cannot distinguish between a civilian population and a military target … particularly in the context of a densely populated area.”

The Israeli Defense Force has denied using white phosphorus as a weapon in Gaza.

UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO DISCUSS ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR ON FRIDAY

UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. Security Council is set to meet behind closed doors Friday afternoon to discuss the Israel-Hamas war as Palestinians stream out of northern Gaza on orders from the Israeli military.

Friday’s council meeting was scheduled before the evacuation order was issued and added still more urgency to the discussion. The U.N. has said the order affects 1.1 million people, about half Gaza’s population, and could turn an already dire humanitarian crisis into a calamity.

The council emerged without any collective message or action from another closed-door meeting Sunday on the Israel-Hamas fighting. At that meeting, the United States pressed unsuccessfully for a strong condemnation of Hamas from all 15 members of the U.N.’s most powerful body, where divisions have sharpened amid Russia’s war in Ukraine.

EVACUEES FROM ISRAEL ARRIVE IN CYPRUS AS THEY AWAIT REPATRIATION

NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cypriot authorities say they’re gearing up to host significant numbers of third-country evacuees from Israel as the first 268 foreign nationals have used Cyprus as a waystation for their repatriation.

Cyprus Foreign Ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis said Friday most of the people were Portuguese citizens flown out on Portuguese Air Force C-130 transport aircraft on three flights. Others among them included Austrians and Spaniards.

Gotsis said cruise ships are also ferrying foreign nationals including Germans out of Israel. The arrival of Danish and British citizens is expected later Friday.

Cyprus has set aside temporary accommodations for evacuees until they can be repatriated.

JERUSALEM — Israel’s military on Friday ordered the evacuation of northern Gaza, a region that is home to 1.1 million people, within 24 hours, a United Nations spokesperson said.

The order, delivered to the U.N., comes as Israel presses an offensive against Hamas militants. U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the evacuation would be “impossible” without “devastating humanitarian consequences.”

This could signal an impending ground offensive, though the Israeli military has not yet confirmed such an appeal. On Thursday, it said that while it was preparing, a decision had not yet been made.

Palestinians fled in a mass exodus Friday from northern Gaza after Israel’s military told some 1 million people to evacuate to the southern part of the besieged territory ahead of an expected ground invasion in retaliation for the surprise attack by the ruling Hamas militant group.

The U.N. warned that evacuating almost half of crowded Gaza's population would be calamitous, and it urged Israel to reverse the unprecedented directive. As airstrikes hammered the territory throughout the day, families in cars, trucks and donkey carts packed with possessions streamed down a main road out of Gaza City.

Hamas’ media office said warplanes struck cars fleeing south, killing more than 70 people. The Israeli military said its troops conducted temporary raids into Gaza to battle militants and hunted for traces of some 150 people abducted in Hamas's assault on Israel nearly a week ago.

In urging the evacuation, Israel’s military said it planned to target underground Hamas hideouts around Gaza City. But Palestinians and some Egyptian officials fear that Israel ultimately hopes to push Gaza’s people out through the southern border with Egypt.

Hamas told people to ignore the evacuation order, and families in Gaza faced what they saw as a no-win decision to leave or stay, with no safe ground anywhere. Hospital staff said they couldn’t abandon patients.

Unrelenting Israeli strikes over the past week have leveled large swaths of neighborhoods, magnifying the suffering of Gaza, which has also been sealed off from food, water and medical supplies, and under a virtual total power blackout.

“Forget about food, forget about electricity, forget about fuel. The only concern now is just if you’ll make it, if you’re going to live,” said Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza City, as she broke into heaving sobs.

In the nearly week-old war, the Gaza Health Ministry said Friday that roughly 1,900 people have been killed in the territory — more than half of them under the age of 18, or women. The Hamas assault last Saturday killed more than 1,300 Israelis, most of whom were civilians, and roughly 1,500 Hamas militants were killed during the fighting, the Israeli government said.

ISRAELI TROOPS MAKE FORAY INTO GAZA

Israel's raid was the first word of troops entering Gaza since Israel launched its round-the-clock bombardment in retaliation for Hamas’ massacre of hundreds of civilians in southern Israel.

A military spokesman said Israeli ground troops left after conducting the raids. The troop movements did not appear to be the beginning of an expected ground invasion.

The evacuation order was taken as a further signal of an expected Israeli ground offensive, although no such decision has been announced. Israel has been massing troops along the Gaza border.

An assault into densely populated and impoverished Gaza would likely bring even higher casualties on both sides in brutal house-to-house fighting.

“We will destroy Hamas,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Friday night in a speech, adding, “This is only the beginning.”

Hamas said Israel’s airstrikes killed 13 of the hostages in the past day. It said the dead included foreigners but did not give their nationalities. Israeli military spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari denied the claim.

In Israel, the public remained in shock over the Hamas rampage and frightened by continual rocket fire out of Gaza. The public is overwhelmingly in favor of the military offensive, and Israeli TV stations have set up special broadcasts with slogans like “together we will win” and “strong together.” Their reports focus heavily on the aftermath of the Hamas attack and stories of heroism and national unity, and they make scant mention of the unfolding crisis in Gaza.

In the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry reported 16 Palestinians killed Friday, bringing the total of Palestinians killed there since Hamas' rampage to 51. The U.N. says attacks by Israeli settlers have surged there since the Hamas assault.

ISRAEL URGES MASS EVACUATION OF GAZA CIVILIANS

The U.N. said the Israeli military's call for civilians to move south affects 1.1 million people. If carried out, that would mean the territory’s entire population would have to cram into the southern half of the 40-kilometer (25-mile) strip.

An Israeli spokesperson, Jonathan Conricus, said the military would take “extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians” and that residents would be allowed to return when the war is over.

Israel has long accused Hamas of using Palestinians as human shields. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel wanted to separate Hamas militants from the civilian population.

“So those who want to save their life, please go south,” he said at a news conference with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said it would be impossible to stage such an evacuation without “devastating humanitarian consequences.” He called on Israel to rescind any such orders.

PALESTINIANS IN GAZA GRAPPLE WITH WHERE TO GO

Hamas’ media office said airstrikes hit cars in three locations as they headed south from Gaza City, killing 70 people. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strike.

Two witnesses reported a strike on fleeing cars near the town of Deir el-Balah, south of the evacuation zone and in the area Israel told people to flee to. Fayza Hamoudi said she and her family were driving from their home in the north when the strike hit some distance ahead on the road and two vehicles burst into flames. A witness from another car on the road gave a similar account.

“Why should we trust that they’re trying to keep us safe?” Hamoudi said, her voice choking. “They are sick.”

The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the strike.

Hamas called the evacuation order “psychological warfare” aimed at breaking Palestinian solidarity and urged people to stay. But there was no sign of it preventing the flight.

Gaza City resident Khaled Abu Sultan at first didn’t believe the evacuation order was real, and now isn’t sure whether to move his family to the south. “We don’t know if there are safe areas there,” he said. “We don’t know anything.”

Many feared they would not be able to return or would be gradually displaced to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.

More than half of the Palestinians in Gaza are the descendants of refugees from the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation, when hundreds of thousands fled or were expelled from what is now Israel. For many, the mass evacuation order dredged up fears of a second expulsion. Already, at least 423,000 people — nearly 1 in 5 Gazans — have been forced from their homes by Israeli airstrikes, the U.N. said Thursday.

“Where is the sense of security in Gaza? Is this what Hamas is offering us?” said one resident, Tarek Mraish, standing by an avenue as vehicles flowed by. “What has Hamas done to us? It brought us catastrophe,” he said, using the same Arabic word “nakba” used for the 1948 displacement.

The U.N. estimated that tens of thousands had fled homes in the north by Friday night.

HOSPITALS STRUGGLE WITH PATIENTS

Gaza’s Health Ministry said it was impossible to safely transport the many wounded from hospitals, which are already struggling with high numbers of dead and injured. “We cannot evacuate hospitals and leave the wounded and sick to die,” spokesperson Ashraf al-Qidra said.

Farsakh, of the Palestinian Red Crescent, said some medics refused to abandon patients and instead called colleagues to say goodbye.

“We have wounded, we have elderly, we have children who are in hospitals,” she said.

Al Awda Hospital was struggling to evacuate dozens of patients and staff after the military contacted it and told it to do so by Friday night, said the aid group Doctors Without Borders, known as MSF, which supports the facility. The military extended the deadline to Saturday morning, it said.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, said it would not evacuate its schools, where hundreds of thousands have taken shelter. But it relocated its headquarters to southern Gaza, according to spokesperson Juliette Touma.

“The scale and speed of the unfolding humanitarian crisis is bone-chilling. Gaza is fast becoming a hellhole and is on the brink of collapse,” said Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA’s commissioner general.

Pressed by reporters on whether the army would protect hospitals, U.N. shelters and other civilian locations, Hagari, the Israeli military spokesperson, said the military would keep civilians safe “as much as we can.” But he warned: “It’s a war zone.”

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