UPDATED WITH HEALTH MINISTRY STATEMENT, EDIT THROUGHOUT
By Anadolu staff
ANKARA (AA) - The Israeli army on Monday said it will open a corridor for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to flee south amid a military offensive in the seaside territory.
Avichay Adraee, the army’s Arabic-language spokesman, said civilians will be allowed to move across the Salahuddin Highway between 10:00 a.m. to 14:00 p.m. local time.
“For your safety, take advantage of the time to move south beyond Wadi Gaza,” the spokesman said.
The Israeli army has warned 1.1 million people living in the north of the Gaza Strip to evacuate and move south as its forces widened their operations in the northern part of the blockaded enclave.
Meanwhile, the Gaza-based Health Ministry warned Palestinians against using the Israeli-announced corridor to the south of Gaza.
At a press conference, Ashraf al-Qudra, the ministry spokesman, described the Israeli-announced corridor as a "death corridor."
"The (Israeli) occupation continues lies over the existence of safe corridors for displaced people and medical staff," al-Qudra added.
Israel launched air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.
At least 10,022 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli bombardments in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli death toll is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.
Besides the large number of casualties and massive displacements, basic supplies are running low for Gaza’s 2.3 million residents due to the Israeli siege.
*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this story from Ankara