Israel Reopening Gaza Humanitarian Corridor Despite Hamas Attacks

Jerusalem, 5 November, 2023 (TPS) -- Israel will reopen a humanitarian corridor in the Gaza Strip on Sunday despite Hamas terrorists firing at soldiers attempting to facilitate the safe passage of civilians the previous day, a military spokesman said on Saturday.

Avichay Adraee, the Israel Defense Forces’ Arabic-language spokesman, tweeted on Saturday night that the military would again allow Gazan civilians to relocate southward away from the danger zone, on the Salah a-Din Road, Gaza’s main thoroughfare.

“If you care about yourself and your loved ones, head south according to our instructions. Rest assured that Hamas leaders are already taking care to protect themselves,” Adraee tweeted in Arabic, saying that traffic would be allowed on the road south between 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

On Saturday, Hamas terror squads attacked Israeli forces working to open up the north-south humanitarian corridor in Gaza, the IDF said on Saturday evening.

The attack came after Adraee announced that the Salah a-Din Road would be open for Palestinians to evacuate south across Wadi Gaza.

Hamas “exploited the humanitarian window” and “terrorists fired mortars and anti-tank missiles at IDF troops who arrived and operated to open the route,” according to the Israeli military.

No Israeli casualties were reported in the attacks.

Hamas has blocked roads and even fired on Palestinians trying to flee, according to the IDF.

The IDF last month provided audio evidence that Hamas is forcibly preventing Palestinians from heeding Israeli orders to evacuate to the south of the Gaza Strip.

Since the beginning of Israel’s ground operations against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, more than 2,500 targets have been struck in combined attacks by ground, naval and air forces, the IDF said on Sunday.

“IDF troops are continuing to eliminate terrorists in close-quarters combat and direct aircraft to strike Hamas terrorist infrastructure, weapons depots, observation posts and command and control centers in the Gaza Strip,” the military said.