NBC: Israel Warning Gaza Citizens to Evacuate 'Felt Like a Cruel Trick'

On Tuesday's NBC Nightly News, as Richard Engel informed viewers that the Israeli military drops leaflets in Gaza to warn civilians when airstrikes are about to happen so they can evacuate to safety, the NBC correspondent still managed to put a negative spin on the warnings that are meant to diminish civilian casualties. After recounting that frightened civilians frantically left from their homes, Engel observed:

For many here, this felt like a cruel trick. Hundreds of thousands of Gazans ordered to move away from the Israeli border with little notice and told to move into a tiny area.

Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Tuesday, November 20, NBC Nightly News:

Palestinian families suddenly began flooding into schools. They were frantic. Overloaded with blankets, arriving packed in cars, on horse-drawn carts, on tactors. "We're doomed," this woman said. "We've been kicked out of our homes." More rushed into classrooms, looking for shelter.

People are streaming in here after these leaflets were dropped on their homes. They say, in Arabic, "Immediately, evacuate your houses, by order of the Israeli military." It's created something of a panic here as people think an Israeli invasion could be imminent.

Israel says it drops leaflets so civilians can avoid conflict zones. For many here, this felt like a cruel trick. Hundreds of thousands of Gazans ordered to move away from the Israeli border with little notice and told to move into a tiny area.

"We are a family of 150 people. Where are we to go?" this woman asks.