Fox News’s Trey Yingst Reports ‘Hamas is Preventing Civilians From Leaving Their Homes’ After Warnings of Israeli Airstrikes

Fox News foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported from Ashkelon, Israel on Friday on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and cited two sources inside Gaza saying that Hamas is preventing civilians from evacuating buildings after Israel warned of impending airstrikes on those buildings.

“Bill, good morning. We’ve got some new information for you from the northern part of Israel along the border with Lebanon, an area called Hanita. We understand that there has been some sort of incident there, an explosion, possibly an exchange of gunfire. The Israeli military is confirming that something happened and they’re currently looking into it,” Yingst began, addressing anchor Bill Hemmer in New York.

“It comes as we’re getting some new reporting from the Gaza Strip. A diplomatic source telling Fox News today that Hamas is preventing civilians inside homes And you just heard that explosion in the distance, continuing airstrikes at this hour in Gaza. But this source telling Fox News that Hamas is preventing civilians from leaving their homes after they announced that there will be an airstrike there,” Yingst continued, adding:

The Israelis have a way of informing civilians, telling them to leave, and then destroying homes that are linked to Hamas or have some sort of relevant target for the Israelis. And a source inside Gaza confirming that information to us. Now, I did reach out to Hamas to get a response to what I presented to them in my reporting. Here’s what that official had to say.

“This is absolutely wrong. This is not our decision. This is not our policies. And it is also technically and logistically impossible. How can you believe that 1.1 million Palestinians who are leaving their houses and homes from side to side if they want to do it? This is impossible,” said the Hamas official in a clip.

“Now, this reporting is separate from the general evacuation order that was given by the Israelis last night, giving Palestinian civilians inside Gaza 24 hours to clear out from the northern part of the Gaza Strip,” Yingst continued, adding:

We have no evidence to indicate Hamas is stopping people from moving out of their homes. When it comes to the general order. And we’ve actually talked with journalists inside Gaza who indicate there are thousands of people heeding those warnings by the Israelis and starting to head south. I want to show you the scene here amid the incoming rocket fire from Gaza.

Today, they fired on the northern city of Haifa, a significant development because they don’t have that many long range rockets inside Gaza and they continue to fire here along the border in communities and population centers. You can see the side of this building, Bill, completely destroyed, a direct impact. And there are people around, there are families off on the balconies watching this destruction and just enjoying their weekend. It is the Israeli rest day of Shabbat at sundown.

Normally a 24 hour period where observant Jews don’t use technology. But this weekend is different. The country is at war, and we understand that there will be an emergency radio system in place for those who still want to observe the Sabbath, but they want to get the latest updates and make sure they have the latest red alert sirens if they need to get to shelters. So it will be a radio system that Jews here can turn on and they can keep on throughout the weekend. And if an air raid siren goes off, they’ll learn about it from the radio and go to their shelters.

Watch the full clip above via Fox News.