Palestinians collect water, amid the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 14, 2023. REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot
The leader of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas said Saturday that Palestinians will not leave Gaza or the West Bank to migrate to Egypt, after calls from the Israeli army for more than a million of the enclave’s residents to leave their homes and head south.
“Our decision is to remain in our land,” Ismail Haniyeh added in a televised speech while addressing Egypt in that part of his address.
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Egypt shares a border with Gaza and has been alarmed by the possibility that the enclave’s residents could be displaced by Israel’s siege and bombardment of the territory, launched in retaliation for a devastating incursion by Hamas militants.
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Like other Arab states, Egypt has said that Palestinians should stay on their lands as the war escalates and that it is working to secure delivery of aid into the Gaza Strip.
READ: A week into war, Gazans flee homes as Israeli ground offensive looms
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Friday that Palestinian civilians “who want to save their lives” must heed Israel’s warning to evacuate southward in Gaza.
READ: As Israel bombards Gaza, bakeries run out of bread, water runs low