The Israeli military has strongly recommended that all individuals in Gaza City evacuate their homes "for their own safety," signaling a potential ground assault. Concurrently, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shared three distressing images of deceased infants on his Twitter account.
The UK Foreign Office has echoed the call for civilians in Gaza City to heed the evacuation order. The Israeli military previously instructed approximately 1.1 million people in the area to relocate to southern Gaza within 24 hours to ensure their safety.
An update on the Foreign Office's travel advice page read, "The Israeli military announced on the morning of 13 October that the entire population of Gaza north of Wadi Gaza should relocate to southern Gaza within the next 24 hours. We advise following this advice issued by the Israeli authorities. We recognize this is a rapidly evolving situation fraught with significant risks."
The UK's defense secretary has suggested it is "very likely" that British citizens are among those held as hostages in Gaza. When asked by Sky News if there were Britons among the individuals taken by Hamas, he responded, "It seems very likely that there are. We don't have exact data on that for obvious reasons. But within Gaza, there will also be Brits or possibly people with dual nationalities as well. The prime minister has spoken to the Egyptian president about using that border to get people out." He also noted that assistance and expertise, including intelligence, were being dispatched to the region but emphasized that it didn't mean sending personnel into Gaza itself.
In response to concerns about the feasibility of evacuating over a million people from Gaza City within 24 hours, Grant Shapps, the UK's defense secretary, stated that Israel is making significant efforts to provide advanced notice and warnings to allow civilians to evacuate before major operations commence. He highlighted having seen "distressing videos" depicting Hamas-related violence, including beheadings, sexual assaults, and the public display of bodies. Shapps urged Hamas to recognize Israel as a state and remove from its founding charter the goal of eradicating all Jews from the Earth. Regarding the possibility of opening the northern border into Egypt to aid civilian evacuations, he mentioned that Rishi Sunak had been in discussions with Egyptian officials.
As reported by Sky News journalist and former Gaza-based correspondent Nicole Johnston, Israel has targeted "underground Hamas terror tunnels" among its 750 overnight targets. Over the years, two tunnel networks have developed in Gaza: one used by militant groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad for moving weapons, fighters, and potential attacks against Israel, and a second network beneath the Egyptian border. During Israel's longstanding blockade of Gaza, commercial tunnels were constructed to transport essential goods, including food, clothing, toys, and vehicles into the territory, although these have not been in operation for some time. A total blockade of the borders could potentially lead to their revival.
