Tel Aviv [Israel], October 13 : European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Friday arrived in Israel with President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola to express solidarity with the Israeli people in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attack.
"I have arrived in Israel with @EP_President to express our solidarity with the Israeli people in the wake of the horrific Hamas terrorist attack," the European Commission President wrote on 'X'.
United States Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin also arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday even as high-ranking US officials continued their reachout efforts in the region.
On arrival in Tel Aviv, Lloyd Austin said that US support for Israel was ironclad.
"Just landed in Tel Aviv. Today, I'll meet with Prime Minister @netanyahu, Minister @YoavGallant & other senior leaders to demonstrate that America's support for Israel's security is ironclad & talk to them face-to-face about their defence needs. We stand w/ the people of Israel," he posted on X.
Meanwhile, as the Israel-Hamas conflict entered the seventh day, the Israel Defence Forces called for an immediate evacuation of Gaza. In a statement, the IDF said that all civilians of Gaza City must move from their homes southwards for their own safety and protection and move to the area south of the Wadi Gaza.
The IDF asked civilians to distance themselves from Hamas terrorists who are using them as human shields. The IDF said they will continue to operate significantly in Gaza City and make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians.
Hamas has dismissed Israel's orders for Palestinians to evacuate the northern half of the Gaza Strip and asked the residents to stay put, the Times of Israel said.
At least 1,537 Palestinians have been killed and 6,612 others injured in the ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza, CNN reported citing the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
At least 36 people have died and more than 650 have been injured in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah.
United Nations Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said that more than 338,000 Palestinians have been displaced due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, CNN reported. He further said that nearly 218,000 of those are sheltering in 92 schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency.
Earlier in the day, Israeli Defence Forces spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus said that the death toll from the Hamas terror attacks on Israel has jumped to 1,300 and more than 3000 have been injured.
He also touched on the ongoing efforts to collect the bodies and bring them to Tel Aviv for identification before handing them over to their loved ones. Calling it a "tedious and detailed process", he noted that Israel has never in history faced such a situation.
"Unfortunately the number of Israeli casualties has risen to 1,300 Israeli civilians and soldiers and more than 3000 wounded. There is a massive national effort involving almost all of the security organisations and many of the ministries of the Israeli state, which is focused on taking the bodies from the same communities that we spoke about yesterday, like for instance ... and other communities and the entire southern area, collecting the bodies, bringing them to a centre in Tel Aviv, identifying them and then making sure they are next to their kin. Their loved ones are able to take them and to provide them with a final and respectable burial that's ongoing," Lt. Col. Conricus said.
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