Hundreds of Thousands have Left Gaza City and caused a Crisis in the South, Hospitals are Running Out of Power

Over 600,000 residents of Gaza obeyed the Israeli authorities and moved from the Gaza City area in the northern part of the strip. Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said this almost three days after a set - and constantly extended - deadline for everyone in the northern part of the Strip to leave.

It is not known how many people remain in the north, where Israel is preparing a ground offensive threatening to "destroy" Hamas after the surprise attack that killed 1,300 Israelis. "Hamas" last night was talking about 400,000 people who left. According to Israel, the population of northern Gaza is 1.1 million people, although according to other data it is less.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a surprise return to Israel after a regional tour of the Middle East - from Jordan to the Persian Gulf and Egypt - in an effort to limit the risks of war. Yesterday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned that "the hands of all countries are on the trigger if the Zionist aggressions do not stop."

Attacks on southern Lebanon and targets in Gaza also continued, despite residents continuing to leave. According to "Al Arabiya" television, the shelling continues. Hamas-affiliated media are talking about the "most aggressive" night of bombing in the Gaza City area.

As a result of this large-scale migration, the population of Khan Yunis in the south exceeded over a million people. The other major city in the already crowded strip doubled its population overnight. "Every room, every alley, every street is crowded with men, women and young people. And there is nowhere else to go," the BBC reports.

"Life in Gaza is ending," said the UN Commissioner-General for the Palestine Refugee Agency (UNRWA). In a speech at UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem, he called for the blockade imposed by Israel to be lifted and for agencies to be allowed to bring in essential supplies.

Overnight, the UN humanitarian affairs office warned that hospitals in the enclave had electricity for another 24 hours. Shutting down the generators they operate after Gaza lost power last week would put thousands of patients at risk.

"Gaza is suffocated and, it seems, the world has now lost its humanity. If we look at the issue of water - we know that water is life - water in Gaza is running out, life in Gaza is running out," said Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East

Meanwhile, NBC and other US media reported that the Gaza-Egypt border would be able to open for a few hours this morning for aid deliveries.

It is possible that the point will open for a short time also for foreign citizens according to the same publications at 9 a.m. local (and Bulgarian) time; travelers "may want to move closer to the Rafah border crossing," the US embassy in Israel wrote last night. Yesterday, Blinken, who met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, also spoke about opening the crossing, but is not expected at this time the opening to enable some of the Palestinians - who cannot leave Gaza - to do so.

And in today's briefing, army spokesman Jonathan Conricus insisted that Israel only targets members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, but acknowledged that sometimes the "knock on the roof" tactic to protect civilians in residential areas and warnings before bombings don't work for "obvious reasons".

At least 250 targets were hit, the Israeli army also claimed that a Hamas military commander was killed.

The New York Times, meanwhile, reported that the looming operation - Israel's largest ground operation since the 2006 Lebanon war - may be more limited than initially thought and aimed at keeping Hamas out of control. Gaza militarily and politically, but simply to be deprived of the capacity to attack and to liquidate its leadership.

Also targeted, according to official Israeli army reports, is key commander Yahya Sinwar, who is in Gaza City.

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