Israel pounds Gaza, town near Lebanon evacuated

Palestinians search the destroyed annex of the Greek Orthodox Saint Porphyrius Church, the oldest church still in use in Gaza, after Israeli airstrikes on Friday. Pic/AP

Israel bombarded Gaza early Friday, hitting areas in the south where Palestinians had been told to seek safety, and it began evacuating a sizable Israeli town in the north near the Lebanese border, the latest sign of a potential ground invasion of Gaza that could trigger regional turmoil.

Palestinians in Gaza reported heavy airstrikes in Khan Younis in the south, and ambulances carrying men, women and children streamed into the town's Nasser Hospital, Gaza's second largest, which is already overflowing with patients and people seeking shelter. The Israeli military said it had struck more than 100 targets across Gaza linked to the territory's Hamas rulers, including a tunnel and arms depots.

On Thursday, Israel's Defense Minister Yoav Gallant ordered ground troops to prepare to see Gaza "from the inside," hinting at a ground offensive aimed at crushing Gaza's militant Hamas.

UN says Palestinians are returning home

Smoke over the northern Gaza Strip after an Israeli strike. Pic/AP

A spokesperson for the UN human rights office says there are new signs that some Palestinians who initially moved south in response to the Israeli order to evacuate are returning to their homes because Israeli strikes are taking place in the south, too. "We remain very concerned that Israeli Forces' heavy strikes are continuing across Gaza, including in the south," Ravina Shamdasani told reporters. "The strikes, coupled with extremely difficult living conditions in the south, appear to have pushed some to return to the north, despite the continuing heavy bombing there." Shamdasani said the rights office had heard accounts about people wanting to migrate back north.

Israelis can visit the US without a visa

As the Israel-Hamas war intensifies, the United States Thursday launched a visa waiver programme allowing Israelis wishing to visit the United States for 90 days or less to come without applying for a visa. The US announced September 27 that it was admitting Israel into the visa waiver programme.

UK PM travels to Egypt for talks

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will travel to Egypt on Friday as part of his Middle East tour for crisis talks to prevent the Israel-Gaza conflict spilling over across the region. His talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi follow "productive" discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

US military shoots down missiles

With tensions spiking in the Middle East, US forces in the region are facing increasing threats as a Navy warship shot down missiles appearing to head toward Israel on Thursday and American bases in Iraq and Syria were repeatedly targetted by drone attacks. Later, a US official said there had been a rocket attack early Friday morning on US and coalition forces.

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