After months of speculation that the Israeli invasion of Gaza after the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attacks would end with millions of Gazans being pushed into northeastern Egypt, Israel’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said on Friday that no one would be forced to leave.
Mr. Gallant’s intervention came amid growing concern from international leaders that Israel’s planned operation along the Gaza-Egypt border, where the majority of Gazans have sought shelter after fleeing their homes elsewhere in Gaza, would end in catastrophe.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said on Friday that the planned maneuver could end in an “unprecedented humanitarian disaster,” becoming the latest foreign leader to speak out against displacing Palestinians into Egypt.
The statements came as Israeli special forces were combing southern Gaza’s largest hospital in search of hostages’ remains on Friday, and as Gazan officials announced that a power outage at the medical center had caused the deaths of five Palestinians in the critical care unit.
Communications with people inside the Nasser complex, in the city of Khan Younis, have been extremely spotty since Israel’s military pushed into its grounds, smashing through the perimeter and entering the compound as explosions and gunfire rang out.
The Gaza Health Ministry said on Friday morning that the cut to the hospital’s power supply was endangering the lives of six adult patients in critical care and three infants in incubators who were dependent on oxygen.
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