clear

Creating new perspectives since 2009

Israel evacuates thousands of settlers from homes near Gaza 

May 10, 2023 at 11:28 am

Smoke and flames rise after Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes in Gaza City, Gaza on May 09, 2023 [Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency]

Over 2,000 Israeli settlers living in settlements near Gaza have fled their homes fearing the response of Palestinian resistance groups to the murderous air strikes that targeted the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. According to Haaretz, municipalities of settlements near Gaza are “preparing to evacuate thousands more.”

At least ten buses left the regional council areas of Eshkol and Ashkelon for hotels in other parts of Israel as part of a defence ministry initiative. In Sderot — built on the ruins of the Palestinian village of Najd, which was ethnically cleansed by Jewish terrorists exactly 75 years ago — the municipality contacted 4,500 residents who are eligible to be transported to hotels at the state’s expense.

Haaretz also reported that the Israeli occupation army advised settlers in Kibbutz Nahal Oz and Kibbutz Kfar Aza, which are close to the Gaza security fence, to leave their houses as soon as possible. Out of 500 people living in Kibbutz Nahal Oz, an estimated 150 have already fled.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told settlers’ leaders near the Gaza Strip that they “must be prepared for any scenario, including prolonged fighting.” He referred to the air strikes that killed women and children as well as Islamic Jihad leaders as a “precise and successful operation.”

READ: Israel deploys missile defence system near Gaza