Israel has ordered the mass evacuation of up to 1.1 million Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip in the next 24 hours, ahead of a possible ground invasion targeting Hamas terrorists.
The warning was first shared by the United Nations early Friday, before the Israeli military sent a public evacuation order that the international organization called “impossible.”
“Today, team leaders from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Department of Security in Gaza were informed by their liaison officers in the Israeli military that all Gazans north of Wadi Gaza should move to southern Gaza within the territory in the next 24 hours,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told Axios.
The UN estimated that approximately 1.1 million civilians – nearly half of Gaza’s entire population – would need to be evacuated as a result of the directive.
Around the same time, the Israeli military issued a statement ordering the hundreds of thousands of civilians living in Gaza City to head further south toward the Gaza Strip, saying that Hamas terrorists were hiding in tunnels. beneath the city.
Smoke rises after a bomb from an Israeli airstrike hits a building in Gaza City on October 12, 2023.ZUMAPRESS.com
“The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” Dujarric said.
“The United Nations strongly calls for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded, avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation,” he said.
The short-notice evacuation warning came as Israel hit Gaza with 6,000 bombs in retaliation for Hamas’ surprise attack over the weekend that claimed the lives of more than 1,300 Israelis.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a joint press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, on October 12, 2023. Israeli Prime Minister’s Press Service/UPI/Shutterstock
Israel has halted deliveries of food, water, fuel and electricity to Gaza’s 2.3 million residents and Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz said Thursday there will be no exceptions to the siege without freedom for hostages taken by Hamas. .
“No electric switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli hostages return to their homes. Humanitarian for humanitarian. And no one will preach morals to us,” Katz said.
The blockade poses a significant risk to the Strip’s overwhelmed hospital systems, which are on the brink of a “humanitarian catastrophe,” the World Health Organization warned.
Muslim protesters burn national flags of the United States and Israel during a demonstration against Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, in front of the U.S. embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct. 11, 2023. AP
Israel has relentlessly attacked and bombed the enclave since Hamas launched a surprise attack on the country and its unsuspecting civilians on Saturday.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in retaliation for the deadly Hamas attack over the weekend.
Another 338,000 Gaza residents have been displaced by the conflict, according to the UN.
At least 12 UN staff have died in the chaos.
With postal cables
Categories: Trending
Source: vtt.edu.vn