500,000 Israelis displaced as war rages on October 17, 2023US citizens in Israel arrive at the port of Haifa to be evacuated to Cyprus on October 16, 2023. (Flash90)FLASH90500,000 Israelis displaced as war rages onNumber of Israelis forced to flee their homes due to war with Hamas in the south, ongoing attacks from Hezbollah in the north soars to half a million.By David Rosenberg, World Israel NewsNearly half a million Israelis have been forced to abandon their homes as a result of the ongoing war with Hamas in southern Israel, and attacks by Hezbollah terrorists in northern Israel, an IDF spokesperson said.Speaking with reporters during a news briefing Tuesday morning, IDF spokesman Lt.-Col. (res.) Jonathan Conricus said that roughly half a million Israelis have been displaced following the Gaza invasion of Israel on October 7th, and the Hezbollah missile attacks and terrorist infiltrations from Lebanon.“There are about half a million internally displaced Israelis at the time,” Conricus said.The figure constitutes more than 5% of Israel’s estimated 9.7 million residents.While 20 Israeli towns near the Gaza frontier have been evacuated by the army, and 20 more on the northern border also ordered to evacuate, thousands of Israelis living elsewhere have self-evacuated, Conricus said.Many residents “evacuated on their own merit and at their own initiative,” Conricus said.“All of the communities around the Gaza Strip have been evacuated as per government directives.”“We don’t want civilians near the combat zone,” Conricus continued. “We want to protect civilians, first and foremost ours, against the horrible effects of war.”Three Israelis were wounded in a Hezbollah missile attack in northern Israel Tuesday morning, a day after one was killed and several more injured in a similar incident.The attacks have spurred the IDF to accelerate the evacuation of residents living in towns along the northern border.More than 1,400 Israelis were killed in the October 7th invasion of southern Israel and the subsequent attacks by Hamas and Hezbollah.Some 4,200 Israelis have been injured, and at least 199 abducted to Gaza.Hamas claims to be holding some 250 Israelis hostage in the coastal enclave.Hundreds of American citizens living in Israel were evacuated by ship Monday morning, in an operation orchestrated by the U.S. embassy in Israel.The evacuees were taken to Cyprus, and from there were responsible for their own transportation back to the United States.
