Benjamin Netanyahu/X
Thousands of people living in northern Gaza fled south on Saturday before the six-hour evacuation window ordered by Israel ended at 4 p.m. local time. Meanwhile, as the U.N. warns Israel and Hamas to halt their week-old war before things “reach a point of no return,” the Palestinian militant group claimed additional hostages it is holding in Gaza were killed in Israeli air strikes.
“The situation in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel has reached fever pitch,” the United Nations said in a statement from Geneva. “The United Nations and its Member States must intensify efforts to mediate an immediate ceasefire between the parties, before we reach a point of no return.
Over the past week, some 400,000 Palestinians had already been internally displaced, according to U.N. figures.