Israel-Hamas war live updates: Israel prepares for next stage of operations, opens new routes south in Gaza for fleeing citizens

The Israel Defense Forces will allow movement on two streets in Gaza “without any harm” between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time, the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Avichay Adraee said on X, according to a Google translation.

The IDF encouraged civilians to take advantage of the route to move south from Beit Hanoun to Khan Yunis.

— Christine Wang

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Jonathan Conricus defended the evacuation order, saying it would keep civilians safer and out of an area where Israel is “going to enhance our military operations.” He reiterated that Israel is targeting Hamas and its military infrastructure.

Conricus slammed Hamas for telling civilians to ignore the evacuation order, accusing the Palestinian militant group of using civilians as a human shield.

— Christine Wang

Israel Defense Forces said over 120 civilians are being held captive in Gaza by Hamas. The military previously said it had notified families of at least 120 people who were taken hostage by the Palestinian militant group.

— Christine Wang

A senior U.S. official told NBC News that the U.S. has not asked Israel to delay its ground offensive in Gaza.

The comment strikes down a Fox News report that Washington had asked for the operation to be delayed until after safe passage could be secured for evacuating Palestinians.

A State Department official said Friday the U.S. believes Israel is trying to minimize harm to civilians and that its military has a right to respond with operations it deems necessary.

— Christine Wang

Israel’s deadline for the evacuation of northern Gaza has now passed.

Its military is expected to commence a ground offensive into the area after amassing troops at the border over the past week. While Israel never confirmed such plans, the 24-hour notice for the evacuation of 1.1 million Palestinians raised concerns it would begin a new phase of its efforts to wipe out Hamas’ military capabilities.

— Christine Wang

In the Gaza Strip, a small stretch of land blockaded off with concrete walls and barbed wire fences and whose last remaining border crossings have been shut, survival is increasingly a game of chance.

“It’s insane and brutal — I can’t believe they’re doing this to the whole population. The amount of airstrikes are massive,” Omar, a Gazan development worker with two young children, told CNBC via voice note. “We’re OK for now but it’s very scary, and with each bomb, we feel it’s going to be our turn.” Omar asked that only his first name be used out of concern for his family.

Without bomb shelters, people try to hide in hallways, away from windows, in schools, or even in the street alongside piles of rubble. But those spots aren’t safe either, Palestinians in Gaza say.

Read the full story here.

— Natasha Turak

Entire families could be seen fleeing northern Gaza in cars, trucks, donkey carts and on foot after the Israeli military asked 1.1 million people to evacuate ahead of an expected ground invasion.

The United Nations has demanded that “Israel immediately rescind its order for 1.1 million Palestinians to leave northern Gaza within 24 hours, condemning the evacuation order as a crime against humanity and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.”

“Forcible population transfers constitute a crime against humanity, and collective punishment is prohibited under international humanitarian law,” said Paula Gaviria Betancur, special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons. “We are horrified at the prospect of an additional 1 million Palestinians joining the over 423,000 people already forcibly driven from their homes by the violence over the past week.”

Israel has not yet said anything about the timing of the invasion.

Three convoys of evacuees in Gaza were hit by strikes, killing 70 people, according to a statement released by Hamas. NCB News reported.

At least 1,300 people have been killed in Israel and 1,900 people have been killed in Gaza as a result of the Israel-Hamas war, according to official estimates from both sides.

— Riya Bhattacharjee

Israel’s deadline for the evacuation of northern Gaza has now passed.

Its military is expected to commence a ground offensive into the area after amassing troops at the border over the past week. While Israel never confirmed such plans, the 24-hour notice for the evacuation of 1.1 million Palestinians raised concerns it would begin a new phase of its efforts to wipe out Hamas’ military capabilities.

— Christine Wang

Civilians scramble to flee north Gaza ahead of expected Israeli ground offensive