I wrote a letter to Putin expressing gratitude for saving us – girl displaced from Gaza As countries around the world attempt to get their nationals out of Gaza, Russia has so far managed to bring more than 100 people to Moscow. The Kremlin’s spokesman said almost half of the Russians wishing to leave Gaza had already been removed from the enclave. We heard from Maria al-Askari, a girl who wrote a letter to President Vladimir Putin expressing gratitude for bringing her and her family to safety. Subscribe to RT

ISRAEL’S PLAN TO DISPLACE GAZA RESIDENTS IN DETAILS. THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES ON FRIDAY GAVE RESIDENTS OF NORTHERN GAZA 24 HOURS TO EVACUATE SOUTHWARDS AS THE AREA CONTINUES TO BE HEAVILY BOMBARDED BY MISSILES AND ARTILLERY. MEANWHILE, ISRAELI TANKS AND OTHER HEAVY WEAPONS HAVE BEEN AMASSED NEAR GAZA AHEAD OF AN EXPECTED GROUND OFFENSIVE. GAZA RESIDENTS ARE PREPARING FOR THE WORST AMID THE IDF’S ORDERS TO EVACUATE THE STRIP’S NORTHERN AREAS, INCLUDING GAZA CITY. THE 365 SQUARE KM GAZA STRIP, SANDWICHED BETWEEN ISRAEL, EGYPT AND THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA, IS HOME TO OVER 2.3 MILLION PEOPLE, MOST OF THEM REFUGEES, WITH OVER 1.1 MILLION OF THEM RESIDING IN THE TERRITORY’S NORTHERN AREAS. HAMAS’S SURPRISED OFFENSIVE INTO TERRITORIES BORDERING GAZA LAST SATURDAY PROMPTED ISRAELI AUTHORITIES TO ANNOUNCE A STATE OF WAR, AND TO ORDER THE COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF THE STRIP, CUTTING OFF SUPPLIES OF WATER, FOOD, FUEL AND ELECTRICITY. THE UNITED NATIONS ESTIMATED ON OCTOBER 14 THAT OVER 1,300 BUILDINGS IN GAZA HAVE BEEN DESTROYED BY ISRAELI AIR AND ARTILLERY STRIKES, WITH LOCAL HEALTH OFFICIALS REPORTING THE DEATHS OF OVER 2,200 PEOPLE, 8,700+ INJURED AND OVER 400,000 DISPLACED. ISRAEL HAS REPORTED OVER 1,300 PEOPLE KILLED AND 3,400 WOUNDED FOLLOWING THE HAMAS ASSAULT. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN ON FRIDAY EXPRESSED RUSSIA’S READINESS TO MEDIATE THE CRISIS, AND WARNED TEL AVIV THAT AN ISRAELI GROUND ASSAULT IN GAZA COULD RESULT IN MASSIVE CIVILIAN CASUALTIES. “VARIOUS SCENARIOS ARE EMERGING, INCLUDING THE POSSIBILITY OF MILITARY AND NON-MILITARY MEASURES BEING TAKEN AGAINST THE GAZA STRIP COMPARABLE TO THE SIEGE OF LENINGRAD DURING WORLD WAR II,” PUTIN SAID. “WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT ENTAILS. IN MY OPINION, THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. MORE THAN TWO MILLION PEOPLE LIVE THERE.” THE UNITED NATIONS WARNED SATURDAY THAT THE SITUATION IN GAZA IS TURNING INTO A “MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH” AS RESIDENTS RISK RUNNING OUT OF WATER. UNICEF, MEANWHILE, HAS WARNED THAT THE DISPLACEMENT OF A MILLION PALESTINIANS IN THE STRIP MAY CAUSE A HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE, SINCE THERE ARE “NO SAFE PLACES FOR THEM.” ISRAEL'S PLAN FOR THE DISPLACEMENT OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE. DESKTOP. - SPUTNIK INTERNATIONAL.