Half-Million Israelis Displaced by War

Jerusalem, 17 October, 2023 (TPS) -- Almost 500,000 Israelis have been displaced by the war, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson said on Tuesday.

“There are about half a million internally displaced Israelis at the time,” said Lt.-Col. (res.) Jonathan Conricus during a briefing for reporters.

Conricus said that 20 communities near the Gaza Strip have been evacuated as the army gears up for a ground offensive. Another 20 communities within two km of the Lebanese border have also been evacuated. In recent days, Hezbollah has fired anti-tank rockets into Israel.

The evacuations come on the heels of an Oct. 7 assault by Hamas on Israeli communities near the Gaza border that caught Israelis off-guard. Fighting raged for days as the IDF initially struggled to clear out the terrorists. More than 1,400 were killed and over 4,100 more injured. At least 199 hostages were taken to Gaza.

Meanwhile, the IDF killed four people trying to infiltrate Israel from Lebanon on Tuesday morning. And in Metula, Israel’s northernmost town, three people were injured by an anti-tank rocket fired from Lebanon. IDF tanks fired in retaliation towards the source of the fire. The army declared Metula a closed military zone and ordered the remaining residents there and in Kiryat Shmona to enter their shelters until further notice.

Since the beginning of the war, at least 1,400 Israelis have been killed and 4,200 injured. Hamas holds at least 199 hostages inside the Gaza Strip.