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Key posts
- Sydney Muslims gather to mourn and pray for Gaza
- NSW premier backs in police powers, says a repeat of Monday’s protest scenes would be ‘ruinous’
- Israeli military tells residents of Gaza City to evacuate
- Three men arrested for alleged Nazi salutes at Sydney Jewish Museum
- UN says Israeli demand for 1.1m people to relocate in 24 hours is ‘impossible’
- Pro-Palestinian activists say curbing their protest rights breaches human rights
- Hamas posted video of mock attack weeks before border breach
- NSW protesters can expect to be subject to ‘extraordinary powers’
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Israeli military tells residents of Gaza City to evacuate
Circling back to the Israeli direction for Gazan residents to relocate, the Israeli military is now directly telling residents of Gaza City to evacuate southwards.
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said “now is a time for war” as Israeli warplanes continued pounding Gaza in retaliation for the deadliest attack by Palestinian militants in its history.
The military said it would “continue to operate significantly” in Gaza City, which it called “an area where military operations take place”.
The military also warned Gazans not to approach an area near a fence with Israel, saying residents would be able to return only after permission was announced.
Gazan officials have told Palestinians not to comply with Israeli demands to flee the northern Gaza Strip for the enclave’s south.
With Reuters
Wrapping up
And this is where we will end our live coverage for today.
Recapping events:
- Gazans were fleeing Gaza City after Israel’s Defence Force warned citizens to flee to the south, ahead of a potential ground operation beginning in days
- Hamas told citizens to stay put, but not everyone obeyed those orders. Those with the ability to escape were seen leaving the city, but others with no means to leave their homes were helpless
- The UN said 400,000 Gazans had already been displaced
- Israel has been bombarding targets in Gaza. Hamas claimed the airstrikes had killed 14 more hostages it had been holding since Saturday’s deadly raids across Israel’s south
- World leaders continued to arrive in Israel to show support, including the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin
We will resume our coverage in the morning.
In the meantime, you can read an overview of today’s events here.
Thousands don’t know what to do: report from Gaza
Independent Palestinian journalist Akram Al-Satarri has described the masses of Palestinians in Gaza who are moving on foot or by car after heeding a warning by Israel’s military to move south ahead of heavy fighting.
“The lucky ones managed to find vehicles to take them. But there are thousands of people now on the streets not knowing what to do,” he said, speaking to this masthead from Gaza’s overrun Al-Shifa hospital.
Citizens are seen trying to leave the city to reach a safer place on Friday, but it’s questionable whether anywhere in Gaza is safe.Credit: Getty
“Many are sitting on the pavement waiting for someone to take them by vehicle.”
While many Gazans were moving on foot, Al-Satarri said a significant number had also decided to stay in their homes because they felt “under imminent threat of death” no matter where they were.
“They say no place is safe in Gaza,” he said.
Putin says priority is to stop bloodshed
Russian President Vladimir Putin said an Israeli ground operation in Gaza would result in civilian losses and that the main thing was to stop the bloodshed.
Israel has called on around 1 million Gazans to move south before heavy fighting is expected on the weekend.
Putin, who has launched his own war against Ukraine, a sovereign state, said the conflict should be resolved by peaceful means and supported a two-state solution.
Iran says Hezbollah could open new front
Iran’s foreign minister has warned that Hezbollah in Lebanon, which Iran backs, could open a new war front against Israel if the blockade of Gaza continues.
Hezbollah fighters mourn, as they attend the funeral procession of their two comrades who were killed by Israeli shelling, in Kherbet Selem village, south Lebanon on Tuesday.Credit: AP
“Of course in the case of the continuation of war crimes and the humanitarian blockade of Gaza and Palestine every possibility and decision by the other currents of the resistance is possible,” Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters in Beirut when asked about the possibility of a second front.
He cited the killing of civilians and the cutting off of electricity in Gaza as examples of alleged war crimes.
Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah met Amirabdollahian and the pair discussed “everyone’s responsibilities and the positions that need to be taken with regards to these historical events and developments,” according to a Hezbollah statement.
Amirabdollahian vowed to continue Iran’s “political international and media support of the Palestinian resistance.”
Iran describes the network of armed anti-Israel groups that it supports across the region, including Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, as the “axis of resistance” against Israeli occupation.
“The continuation of the war crimes against Palestine and Gaza will definitely be met with reactions in other axes in the region,” Amirabdollahian said.
with Bloomberg
Australians joining the fight
Australians with specialist skills are flying to Israel to join the nation’s war against Hamas as around one million Palestine citizens were instructed to flee to the south of Gaza ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion in the coming days that is expected to see casualties soar.
Israeli soldiers carry a box next to their mobile artillery piece.Credit: AP
With the Australian government arranging charter flights to help Australian citizens escape Israel, Israeli ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon said his nation was committed to striking a fatal blow against the Hamas militant group that has ruled Gaza since 2007.
Read more: Australians fly to Israel to join war as Palestinians urged to flee to southern Gaza
Trio who performed Nazi salute arrested in Sydney
The three men who were arrested after allegedly performing a Nazi salute outside the Sydney Jewish Museum earlier today have been charged by police.
The men aged – 30, 31, and 40 – were arrested just after 12pm on Darlinghurst Road in Darlinghurst.
They were taken to Kings Cross Police Station and have now been charged with behaving in an offensive manner in or near a public place and knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol without excuse.
All three were released on conditional bail and will appear at Downing Centre Local Court on October 31.
‘Hamas must be destroyed,’ Melbourne vigil told
Australia has long had one of the highest concentrations of Jewish Holocaust survivors outside of Israel, and federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is the son of one of them.
He told the crowd at a vigil for Israel in Melbourne tonight that there was no excuse or justification for the atrocities of Hamas.
“Australia stands as one with Israel and the Jewish people,” he said, speaking of the strong bond of friendship between Australia and Israel.
Dreyfus was flanked by a strong contingent of federal politicians from both sides, including Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil, Nationals Senate Leader Bridget McKenzie and Liberal senator James Paterson, as well as Victorian MPs.
As the sun set in Melbourne, Israel was waking up.
Many at the Caulfield rally spoke of family back there – children sheltering from rockets in bunkers, relatives snatched or killed in their beds or soldiers called up to fight as the Netanyahu government declared war on the terrorist organisation Hamas.
Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan and state Opposition Leader John Pesutto with the crowd at the vigil on Friday.Credit: Eddie Jim
However, there is also concern for the 2 million Palestinians trapped in Gaza where Hamas rules, now cut off food, power and other supplies under heavy Israeli bombardment.
“Hamas must be destroyed,” Paterson said, stressing the group was now putting both Palestinian and Jewish lives at risk and said hostage-taking should not weaken Israel’s resolve.
“You can feel safe and proud of your Jewishness,” he told those gathered tonight.
While the rally on Friday evening was peaceful, police on horseback and in plain clothes kept a close watch.
Thousands gather for vigil in Melbourne
Thousands have gathered at a vigil in Melbourne’s south tonight in solidarity with Israel after the Hamas attacks over the weekend.
At a park in Caulfield, the heartland of Victoria’s large Jewish community, people hold Israeli flags and umbrellas, or photographs of Israelis murdered or kidnapped by Hamas.
Israeli flags and music are lifted by the wind.
Victoria’s Premier Jacinta Allan condemned the violence in Israel and told the crowd she was deeply moved by stories she’d heard from the Jewish community of fear and hope, “text messages that got returned and those that didn’t.”
She stressed the government will not tolerate racism or antisemitism, after a string of incidents had Australia’s large Jewish community on high alert.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan with Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann as the Victorian Jewish community holds a vigil at Caulfield Park in solidarity with the people of Israel.Credit: The Age
“The Jewish community is united by love but I know you continue to face the oldest form of hate but we will continue to stand with you,” she said.
Victorian Liberal Party leader John Pesutto said the community had come together to stand with Israel and its “right to defend itself” after the “barbarism” of Hamas.
But he also spoke of hope winning out over fear, of supermarkets in Israel stripped bare as citizens rushed to donate food to those in need. He told the children in the crowd – “the little ones” – to remember the love and the resolve of their community.
Opposition Leader John Pesutto hugs a man at the vigil.Credit: Eddie Jim
Vigils have been held across Australia this week for Israel.
Concern is also high for the 2 million Palestinians trapped in the Gaza Strip as the Netanyahu government plans its “vengeance” and masses troops on the border.
UN workers in Gaza relocate after Israeli warning
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which works with Palestinian refugees, says it is relocating its operations to Gaza’s south.
The move follows Israel’s warning to residents of the City to evacuate to the south.
Destruction from Israeli aerial bombardment can be seen in Gaza City on Wednesday.Credit: AP
“UNRWA urges Israeli authorities to protect all civilians in UNRWA shelters including schools,” spokeswoman Juliette Touma said in a statement.
“They are UN facilities.
They must be protected at all times and must never come under attack in accordance with international humanitarian law.”
Hamas claims Israeli strikes killed 13 hostages
Hamas says Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip has killed 13 hostages that the group was holding.
Smoke rises after Israeli strikes on Gaza City on Friday.Credit: Getty
In a statement on social media app Telegram, Hamas’ Qassam Brigades said the “prisoners of war” included foreigners.
“The Al-Qassam Brigades announce the killing of 13 prisoners of battle, including foreigners, in the intense Zionist bombing of the North and Gaza governorates during the past 24 hours,” the statement said, according to an English translation.
“[Six] of them were killed in the North Governorate in two separate places, and 7 in the Gaza Governorate in 3 different places that were affected by the barbaric enemy bombing.”
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