The Israeli army orders the evacuation of more than a million residents of the northern Gaza Strip to the south
The Israeli army has ordered the evacuation of more than 1.1 million Gaza residents to the south over the next 24 hours, the United Nations announced in the early hours of this Friday. The United Nations has been informed by Israeli liaison officers that half of the Palestinian enclave’s population must be displaced. This serves as a warning about the start of a ground invasion by the Israeli forces.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, said in an official statement from New York that the measure affects “the entire population north of the Wadi (Valley) of Gaza.” “That corresponds to 1.1 million people, about half of the 2.3 million in Gaza,” he warned. This also includes Gaza City, the capital of the Palestinian coastal region. Dujarric believes it is “impossible that such a massive movement of people could take place without devastating humanitarian consequences.”
Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, said that “the UN’s response to Israel’s previous warning to the residents of the Gaza Strip is shameful.” According to Portal, a Hamas spokesman warned the population of the Gaza Strip to accept Israel’s warning ignore what he described as “false propaganda aimed at confusing citizens and breaking internal Palestinian cohesion.”