The United Nations called on Tel Aviv to “repeat” the order to evacuate the Palestinian enclave. “It is impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” a UN spokesman said.
The UN has been informed by the Israeli army of an order to “relocate” around 1.1 million residents from the northern Gaza Strip to the south within 24 hours, the spokesman for the organization’s secretary general said on Thursday, calling for this order to be implemented cancelled.
“Today (October 12), shortly before midnight local time,” UN officials in Gaza “were informed by their Israeli military liaison officers that the entire population north of Wadi Gaza should be relocated to the south within 24 hours,” said Stephane Dujarric.
“That corresponds to around 1.1 million people. The order applies to all UN personnel and all persons housed in UN facilities, including schools, health centers and clinics,” he said.
“Devastating humanitarian consequences”
The UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) sites host more than 60% of the 423,000 people displaced in Gaza in recent days, but the number present north of Wadi Gaza was not known at the time.
“The United Nations considers it impossible for such a population movement to take place without having devastating humanitarian consequences,” emphasized Stéphane Dujarric.
In these circumstances, “the United Nations strongly calls for this order, if confirmed, to be repealed in order to prevent an already tragic situation from becoming a catastrophic situation,” he stressed.
Towards an Israeli army intervention?
A few hours earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had promised to destroy Hamas after a meeting in Tel Aviv with American Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
It is the Gaza Strip from which the Islamist group’s fighters set out on October 7 to attack the Jewish state.
Since then, the Israeli army has been bombing the Palestinian enclave day and night. The Gaza Strip, a poor and cramped area with 2.3 million civilians suffering under a land, air and sea blockade since 2006, is now under siege, without water, electricity or food supplies and cut off from Israel.
In addition to the bombings, the Israeli army has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers around the Gaza Strip. The “relocation order” suggests IDF intervention on the ground, although this has not yet been officially announced.
The Defense Secretary announced this week that he “All restrictions lifted” so his army radically “transforms” Gaza. and that the Palestinian enclave “doesn’t do that.” [revienne] never to what it was.