Nearly 340,000 Gazans leave Strip as battles rage VIDEO

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has said on its Telegram channel that it launched a massive attack on the facilities of the Palestinian Hamas movement located in Gaza.

In turn, the pan-Arab TV channel Al-Mayadeen reports that Israeli planes carried out a large number of attacks on populated areas of the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Air Force attacked 450 ground targets in the cities of Gaza, Jabaliya and Khan Yunis.

As a result of these attacks, a significant number of Palestinians were injured.

Besides, on the night of October 12 to 13, the IDF Air Force carried out a series of strikes on targets in the Gaza Strip and attacked the facilities of the Hamas combatants organization.

The operational headquarters of the militants of the Nahaba sabotage unit of the Hamas combatants organization were attacked. It was this unit that carried out a massive attack on civilians and border bases on October 7.

In addition, the commander of the Hamas naval forces in the Rafah brigade, Muhammad Abu Shamla, was pointwise eliminated. His house, which was used to store weapons, was destroyed.

Meanwhile, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that the death toll in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the armed conflict between the Palestinian Hamas movement and Israel has increased to 1,200 people. About 5,600 people were injured. According to the latest data, 1,300 people were killed in Israel and more than 3,700 were injured. The Israeli side also lost 220 military personnel in the clashes.

The Ministry clarified that over the past night, 51 Palestinians were killed and another 281 people were injured as a result of Israeli airstrikes.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the number of residents of the Gaza Strip who have left their homes has increased to 338,000, an increase of 75,000 people per day.

On October 7, Hamas launched attacks on Israeli territory and then penetrated into some areas of the country. Palestinian groups have taken about 150 Israelis, including civilians and military personnel, to the Gaza Strip. In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched a military operation in the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened to destroy Hamas militants.

Health Minister Moshe Arbel issued a directive to the public health system in Israel to refuse to treat captured militants on Wednesday afternoon.

"Since the beginning of the fighting, the issue of treating the damned and despicable Hamas combatants within the public hospitals has piled up a tremendous difficulty on the health system," Arbel wrote.

"In these difficult times, the health system should focus fully on the treatment of the victims of the criminal massacre, the IDF soldiers and preparedness for the next," added the health minister. "The task of securing and treating the cursed and despicable terrorists within the public health system significantly harms these efforts and therefore, under my guidance, the public health system will not treat them."

Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that the number of residents of the Gaza Strip who were forced to leave their homes after the outbreak of armed conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement approached 340,000.

OCHA said that as of the evening of October 11, the number of displaced people had increased by a further 75,000, reaching 338,934.

Palestinian Deputy Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Hassan Al-Balawi called on Europe to impose sanctions against Israel and not to provide it with military support during the current escalation of the Middle East conflict.

The diplomat said that this is the only peaceful solution, and Europe should correct its historical mistakes with regard to the Palestinian people.

“For many years, the West ignored all international resolutions, including the resolution on the partition of Palestine into two states from 1947 and on the right of return of Palestinian refugees," he noted.

Egypt has discussed plans with the United States and others to provide humanitarian aid through its border with the Gaza Strip but rejects any move to set up safe corridors for refugees fleeing the enclave.

Gaza, a tiny coastal strip of land wedged between Israel in the north and east and Egypt to the southwest, is home to some 2.3 million people who have been living under a blockade since the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas took control there in 2007.

Egypt has long restricted the flow of Gazans onto its territory, even during the fiercest conflicts.

Cairo, a frequent mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, always insists the two sides resolve conflicts within their borders, saying this is the only way Palestinians can secure their right to statehood.