According to a notification to the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Department of Safety and Security in Gaza, Israel ordered 1 million Palestinians to leave within 24 hours.
More than a million residents in Gaza City have been urged by the Israeli military to leave their houses and flee immediately to the south. The UN has issued a dire warning about “devastating humanitarian consequences.”
The evacuation order was given by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who described it as a “humanitarian step.” There was no precise timeframe mentioned, and a representative acknowledged that it would take “some time.”
“The IDF calls on all residents of Gaza City to evacuate their homes, move south for their protection, and settle in the area south of the Gaza River,” the military said in a post on X. “This evacuation is for your personal safety. It will be possible to return to Gaza City only after a notification confirming this.”
Just before midnight local time, “the entire population of Gaza north of Wadi Gaza should relocate to southern Gaza within the next 24 hours,” according to a notification to the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Department of Safety and Security in Gaza (OCHA oPt), the UN’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement to several media outlets on Friday.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) warned that it would “continue to operate significantly in Gaza City in the coming days” and asked civilians to “distance yourself from the Hamas terrorists who use you as a human shield.”
The UN representative stressed that it is “impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences.”
“This amounts to approximately 1.1 million people. The same order applied to all UN staff and those sheltered in UN facilities – including schools, health centers and clinics,” the spokesperson said.
“The United Nations strongly appeals for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation,” Dujarric added.
According to the OCHA’s most recent flash update, as of Thursday night, 423,378 individuals—or nearly 21% of Gaza’s total population—had already been forced to leave their homes due to continued Israeli bombings. The UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) manages housing for about two-thirds of the internally displaced people.
After the attack by Hamas in southern Israel this morning, Israel launched Operation Swords of Iron, which involved launching between 2,000 and 5,000 rockets.
Last Saturday, Hamas terrorists started the Operation “Al-Aqsa Flood” raid from Gaza with a barrage of missiles before moving swiftly into Israeli territory and capturing numerous towns and villages. Soon after, there were reports of appalling cruelty, with at least 260 Israeli and foreign citizens being killed at a music festival and an undetermined number being taken prisoner by the militants.
On Sunday, while IDF troops were being sent out to purge Israeli towns and villages of Hamas fighters, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu proclaimed a state of war. Since then, Israeli aircraft have repeatedly attacked Gaza with airstrikes.
Figures released by the Israeli authorities on Friday show that there have been at least 1,300 Israeli fatalities and more than 3,000 injuries. According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, over 1,500 Palestinians have died and over 6,000 more have been injured.
The Elite Hamas Unit Tricked Israeli intelligence by making them think that the Hamas leadership was more concerned with the restoration of Gaza’s economy than with escalating hostilities.
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