1 of 2 | Israel opened an evacuation corridor for a fourth straight day on Wednesday to permit Gazan civilians to move to the southern end of the territory to escape what Israel Defense Forces called the “fierce combat zone” in the north. File photo by Ismael Mohamad/UPI
Israel for the fourth consecutive day opened an evacuation corridor for civilians in Gaza to move to the southern end of the territory and away from military operations to root out Hamas fighters and destroy the group’s infrastructure.
Warning that “time was running out”, the military said people would be allowed passage via the Salah al-Din Road [linking the north of the strip with the south] for four hours beginning at 10 a.m. local time. Advertisement
“For your safety, take advantage of the next chance to move south beyond Wadi Gaza. The northern Gaza Strip area is considered a fierce combat zone, and time is running out to evacuate it,” Israel Defense Forces wrote on X.
“Join the hundreds of thousands who have responded to calls and moved south in recent days. If you care about yourself and your loved ones, head south according to our instructions.”
The evacuation window was subsequently extended by 1 hour until 3 p.m. due to “substantial” demand.
“The IDF has extended the evacuation corridor by an extra hour, until 15:00 today, allowing many more Gazans to move south for their safety,” Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories wrote in an update on X. Advertisement
The same corridor has been opened daily since Sunday as Israeli ground forces close in on Hamas’s Gaza City stronghold with troops beginning to fight their way into the city Wednesday.
On Tuesday, many displayed white flags as they walked or rode past IDF units, with their hands raised above their heads, video circulated by the Israeli military showed.
Wednesday’s announcement came as Ukraine said it had successfully evacuated its first group of 43 nationals from Gaza to Egypt out of more than 350 trapped there amid the fighting that has sealed off the strip from the outside world for more than a month.
Ukrainian diplomats were providing necessary assistance to the evacuees on the ground in Egypt, President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in a social media post.
“We have also helped evacuate 36 citizens of Moldova, and we are glad to help our friendly neighbor. The evacuation continues. Our embassies in Israel and Egypt, as well as other relevant agencies, are working hard to get more of our citizens out of Gaza.”
The Moldovans and Ukrainians were brought out via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt but Wednesday’s rescue means 315 of the 358 Ukrainians seeking help from Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry remain behind in Gaza. Advertisement
Zelensky pledged that Ukraine’s embassies in Israel and Egypt were doing everything they could they get more Ukrainian citizens out of Gaza.
Ukrainian authorities say four Ukrainians have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7 and another 19 killed in Israel. More than 500 have been evacuated from Israel.
