CAIRO, October 16. /TASS/. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has called for an end to the "mass extermination" of Palestinians and "ethnic cleansing" in the Gaza Strip.
"The mass extermination and ethnic cleansing that is being carried out against the Palestinians [of Gaza] for the 10th day now, under conditions of blockade, lack of water and electricity, must be stopped," Shtayyeh said on his Facebook page (the social media owned by US corporation Meta that is outlawed as an extremist organization in Russia).
Meanwhile, the prime minister emphasized that the Palestinian people "will not give up."
Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank. More than 2,800 Palestinians have been killed and around 10,900 others injured. In Israel, at least 1,500 people have lost their lives and almost 4,000 have been wounded.
Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN Secretary General, said earlier that Israel had informed the UN that 1.1 million Palestinians should evacuate to the south of the Gaza Strip within 24 hours. The Israel Defense Forces justified this by saying that Hamas militants were hiding in tunnels under civilian buildings in Gaza. The call for the evacuation also applies to all UN staff, along with those who are taking shelter at UN facilities. Hamas, however, called on people to ignore Israel’s recommendation. It also asked the UN to take measures to prevent people from being forced from their homes. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said during his talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Jordanian capital that he was against the forcible relocation of Gaza residents.