Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC 20240703 : vimarsana.com

BBCNEWS BBC July 3, 2024

Hello. The bbc has confirmed that Young Children were among those killed in an air strike on a convoy of vehicles leaving Northern Gaza yesterday along a route designated by israel. Our team at bbc verify analysed two videos of the strike on the vehicles heading towards southern gaza. Both videos have been verified, these first images show a Lorry Carrying at least 30 civilians on the move, moments before it was hit. And these are still images taken from a subsequent video from the aftermath of the strike, too graphic to show in detail. The video shows men running to the lorry, trying to help those whove been hit. There are at least 12 visible dead bodies in the footage. Just some of the moving images and still images. Verified by our team at the bbc. We will bring you more on that as we get it. The Un Relief Agency, unrwa, says hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced in the past 12 hours alone. And nearly a million, almost half the territorys population, in the past week. Israel says those still in the north should leave as soon as possible, and its specified two roads it says are safe for people heading south. People were told on friday to relocate before an expected ground offensive. Israels Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said his countrys bombardment of gaza is just the beginning. More rockets have been fired into israel, and israeli air strikes are continuing across gaza. Military sources in israel say a senior hamas commander is among those killed. Israeli forces are continuing their build up near the boundary with gaza. To the north, israeli troops killed several people they identified as terrorists who were trying to cross the border from lebanon. Overnight, israels military exchanged more cross border fire with the iranian backed lebanese group, hezbollah. The us Secretary Of State, antony blinken, is in saudi arabia on the latest stop of a tour of the middle east. Jordans Foreign Minister has accused israel of Flagrant Breaches of international law, and warned the displacement of civilians in gaza was pushing the whole region towards conflict. The latest information is that more than 2,200 people have been killed in gaza, with 9,000 wounded. At least 1,300 israelis were killed by hamas gunmen last weekend. From southern israel, nick beake sent this report. The reality of another night of israeli air strikes on gaza. Chaos in the rubble. A scramble for survivors. More casualties ferried to overrun hospitals, and yet more civilians killed, as israel insists more than a Million People in the north of gaza move out. Translation this is| a genocide, not a war. Its genocide and its an attempt to displace the people of the gaza strip, but this will not happen. Israel says this is a legitimate response to the hamas� atrocities exactly a week ago. The Israeli Military said this footage shows the elimination of hamas commanders whod masterminded the mass killing. A few miles away, just a fragment of the build up of israeli troops, amid anticipation of a full scale Land Incursion into gaza. Israel continues to fire on gaza with its artillery and its fighter jets. It insists its targeting hamas and not civilians. Today, the israelis have given a limited window for palestinians to move south. Theyre being told they will be safe, but as weve seen over the past 2a hours, civilians have been killed trying to move away. This convoy of vehicles was hit in the north of gaza yesterday, attempting the journey to safety. The circumstances are still not clear. Israel says a significant number of people have now followed their ultimatum to leave Northern Gaza. We have seen people listening to our warning, understanding that they are doing the clever thing, moving out of a dangerous area and that they are doing the right thing for their families and their own safety. Americas top diplomat, whos in the middle east, stressed once again that civilian life must be protected. As israel pursues its legitimate right to defending its people, to try to ensure that this never happens again, it is vitally important that all of us look out for civilians, and were working together to do exactly that, in particular, working on establishing safe areas. Hamas continues to attack israel. This, footage of unmanned so called kamikaze drones. They, along with rockets, are still being fired to civilian areas in many parts of israel. The United Nations has called for food, fuel and aid to be sent to gaza. For now, its only bullets and bombs heading that way. Joining me now from Amman Injordan is tamara alrafai. She is the spokeswoman from the United Nations relief and works agency for palestine refugees. Cute so much for being on the programme. What are your colleagues on the ground telling you . Thank you so much. My on the ground telling you . Thank you so much you so much. My colleagues are tellin you so much. My colleagues are telling me you so much. My colleagues are telling me a you so much. My colleagues are telling me a lot you so much. My colleagues are telling me a lot of you so much. My colleagues are telling me a lot of horror you so much. My colleagues are| telling me a lot of horror stories. Women and children with disabilities, older people, all of them not able to leave the north of gaza as instructed. As a reminder, we are talking about an area where i Million People live and where they were asked to evacuate literally overnight. It isjust were asked to evacuate literally overnight. It is just not realistic to expect i overnight. It is just not realistic to expecti Million People are able to expecti Million People are able to leave and find shelter somewhere else. Half of them might have left in the last 12 hours because of the warning, but they have left in extremely dire conditions, and they have now arrived in the south of gaza where there is no capacity to absorb them, not even in unrwa shelters. We are now hosting more than 500,000 people, half the population of north gaza, across our shelters on the strip. We are also not in a situation to be able to assist them, because of the lack of food and medicine and utensils and hygiene kits, and even clean Drinking Water. Today we are saying that its a matter of life or death for many gaza residents, because they will no longer have access to clean Drinking Water within days. You make many points, but let me take it in stages. You talk about the people who are simply unable to get out. How alarmed are you, given that israel has repeated the basic instruction to leave . It is that israel has repeated the basic instruction to leave . Instruction to leave . It is ust not imaginable instruction to leave . It is ust not imaginable to H Instruction to leave . It is ust not imaginable to think H Instruction to leave . It is ust not imaginable to think an H Instruction to leave . It isjust not imaginable to think an entire imaginable to think an entire population of half the strip can leave. With that, the call is for a return to respecting International Humanitarian law. Under international law, civilians should be spared, they cannot be targeted, they cannot be bombed. Infrastructure including the uns shelters and schools cannot be targeted. So even if People Choose to stay where they are, for various reasons, maybe they are unable to leave, maybe they do not want to leave, maybe they do not want to leave this place a second time. For all these reasons, we are calling on the Israel Defence forces to spare civilians and to spare the un and humanitarian infrastructure. In terms of the un labelled premises, tell me where you are. We had the original deadline on friday. Un had the original deadline on friday. Un labelled premises. Have they been trying to get people out of their own premises and shelters, the un labelled . How that happened . Mi; un labelled . How that happened . Iii colleagues, the un labelled . How that happened . M1 colleagues, the International Staff of unrwa, based on our headquarters in gaza city, moved to the south to our logistical base. We have been very, very concerned and very worried about the rest of our colleagues. 0ur Palestinian colleagues. 0ur Palestinian colleagues from gaza. For a variety of reasons, they might have chosen not to leave. Some of them did leave, some of them are in are in our shelters, leave, some of them are in are in ourshelters, but leave, some of them are in are in our shelters, but many have families in that community and dont want to leave. We in that community and dont want to leave. ~. , in that community and dont want to leave. ~. , leave. We were hearing a little earlier in the leave. We were hearing a little earlier in the day from the earlier in the day from the norwegian refugee council. The head was talking and saying he thought what was going on, this displacement of people, was a war crime. Is that a phrase you would repeat, that you think is correct here . Or incorrect . What we are seeing is an unprecedented situation in gaza. Even though gaza has witnessed many, many conflicts and the blockade that has completely suffocated it. What we are seeing is our colleagues, un people, unable to provide assistance for those in our own shelters in the north of gaza. My colleagues are speaking about a displacement that is reminiscent to the original displacement of palestinians in 1948. This is very, very big. To ask 1948. This is very, very big. To ask i Million People to move within a few hours is really mind boggling. We have to leave it there, but thanks forjoining us on bbc news. You are injordan, but thanks for talking to us and describing what your colleagues are saying to you. From there to the border between israel and lebanon. 0ur correspondent anna foster is there. Take us through what has been happening there over the last few hours. A happening there over the last few hours. X,. , , happening there over the last few hours. A,. , ,. , hours. Matthew, there has been a real increase hours. Matthew, there has been a real increase in hours. Matthew, there has been a real increase in activity hours. Matthew, there has been a real increase in activity here hours. Matthew, there has been a real increase in activity here overl real increase in activity here over the last few days. And even in the last few hours. We have seen Mortar Shells fired across the border from lebanon into israel by the Lebanese Militant Group hezbollah, around 30, say the Israel Defence forces. They have returned via back in the other direction. They say they have been targeting hezbollah infrastructure. In the early hours of this morning, we saw what they called an infiltration, individuals who had made it across the border near one of these communities, seemingly heading towards a kibbutz on the northern border. They were again targeted. In fact, the Israel Defence forces released a video where you could see a shell hitting those individuals. You could see the impact of the shell hitting those individuals who had crossed the border. This is not the first time in the last few days that this has happened. Its happened really everyday for the last 4 5 days. That is why there is a lot of concern and tension on the northern border, because it could potentially open up a new front in this war, and it would make things considerably more devastating. I started the week down in the south of israel. I was very close to the gaza border, and seeing and hearing everything that was happening there. Bear in mind how relatively small gaza is in geographical terms, relatively small gaza is in geographicalterms, only 26 relatively small gaza is in geographical terms, only 26 miles long, six miles wide. If you think of the border between israel and lebanon, how many hundreds of kilometres it is, and if you think about hezbollah with their extra firepower, deciding tojoin about hezbollah with their extra firepower, deciding to join this conflict in support of hamas, you really start to get a sense of why there is so much International Diplomatic activity going on right now to calm things in the north of israel. ,. , israel. You were telling me earlier about what israel. You were telling me earlier about what people israel. You were telling me earlier about what people have israel. You were telling me earlier about what people have been israel. You were telling me earlier l about what people have been saying to you, and so many people around you leaving. Tell me a little more about any sort of build up from the military. We have seen the build up in the south. What is happening there in the north . In the south. What is happening there in the north . There is a very larie there in the north . There is a very large military there in the north . There is a very large military buildup there in the north . There is a very large military buildup here, large military build up here, matthew. Very large indeed. You see it in a couple of different ways. When you are driving along the Winding Roads at the border, and when you pass junctions or roadside points, where they have five or six military vehicles packed in together. You see that at very regular point driving along. And then you see some bigger concentrations of armoured vehicles and troops being moved into place as well. It was notable that in the hours after the attack last saturday, 300,000 israeli reservists were called up, told to come and report for duty. Many of those have come here to this northern border. In terms of peoples reaction to that, we have been in various communities, kibbutzes where people are leaving. 0ne communities, kibbutzes where people are leaving. One person said the kibbutz he is based in is almost completely empty because people have left. They are really concerned that if there is an escalation on the northern border, they dont want to be anywhere near it. We are so very close to the border here, matthew. People who live in these areas, some of them old enough to remember the last war between lebanon and israel in 2006, they know how devastating it will be, and they are choosing to move south if they can, as far away as they can. Move south if they can, as far away as they can the idf international spokesperson, lt col richard hecht, told me israel would find all the hamas leaders who orchestrated last weeks attack. The commander who orchestrated this attack, we are slowly taking out all his commanders and we will get to every single one of them. We will not forget what happened saturday. I know you are now focusing on gaza. This attack, this is a flag i brought today. We found it on one of the terrorist groups. It is an isilflag. They were carrying this. They brought it this morning. This is an unprecedented event, not something regular. We are talking about these gaza campaigns. This is something different. We took out last night one of their senior commanders, air defence commanders. We will slowly get to all of them. They are now hiding underground, like they do, hiding behind their people. Sadly telling all the people we notified to leave south, they are telling them to stay. A very cynical isil style enemy. And again, we found that flag. No one is doubting the barbarity of the attacks we saw last week. In terms of what is happening on the ground, let me try to clarify the current position. Theres now a new six hour window for people to leave. Two roads, i gather, they are being instructed to actually use. Tell me what you are saying currently about the instruction for people to leave. We are issuing. On twitter we have an arab spokesperson. We are also using leaflets and other means to talk to the community, asking them to leave on the two main roads south. One the coastal road, and one the main road through the strip. Again, sadly, hamas is Issuing Orders for them to stay, and not to believe the idf. The fact youve extended the deadline and you are talking about two roads, is that an acknowledgement about what the un and many, many others said that instructing a Million People or more to get out within 2a hours was simply impossible . It is an acknowledgement of that, is it . No, we have never stated the number, that came from the un. We at the idf, we said we understand it will take time. We notified the public. We know it will take time for them, its a substantial number, but we dont want to hurt civilians. Thats the difference between us and hamas. They targeted our civilians and we are notifying them to move civilians. You still expect hundreds of thousands of people to leave without cars, the injured who are in the hospitals, they have all got to get out within a telescoped period of time. And just to be absolutely clear, because you started this answer by saying you didnt say a time, how long have those people got to get out, and are you expecting all of those people ijust mentioned, those in hospital and many others, to actually get out within whatever timeframe youre laying out . Matthew, i am looking at the coverage, the pictures. Hamas have a lot of cars. I see them moving around, doing a lot of stuff with their cars. They are responsible i repeat, they are responsible. A Million People. The roads are not the deadline, they are the access routes. We have not announced the deadline. We are watching the movements and we understand it will take time. Again, we are encouraging the non involved people to move. Im joined now by kenneth katzman, a former middle east analyst for us congress, and now a Senior Fellow at the soufan centre. Thank you for being on the programme. When i was talking to richard, he went on to talk about the ultimate objective, which was to wipe o

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