Following the unprecedented attack by Hamas against Israel on October 7, the country declared a state of war and launched counter-attacks on the Gaza Strip. On October 14, Israel announced its plans to expand the offensive in the region, with a focus on a ground operation.
Israeli authorities expand the evacuation program to 14 additional areas in the north of the country, the Israeli Defense Ministry and Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Sunday.
“The 14 communities added to the [evacuation] plan are: Snir, Dan, Beit Hillel, She’ar Yashuv, Hagoshrim, Liman, Matzuva, Eylon, Goren, Gornot HaGalil, Even Menachem, Sasa, Tziv’on and Ramot Naftali,” a joint statement by the defense ministry and the IDF read.
On October 7, Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip and breached the border, killing and seizing people in neighboring Israeli communities. Israel launched retaliatory strikes and ordered a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to more than 2 million people, cutting off supplies of water, food and fuel. The blockade was later eased to allow trucks with humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip.
According to the latest data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the death toll in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israeli strikes has risen to 4,385, including 1,756 children. In Israel, the death toll stands at over 1,400 people. SPUTNIK
