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More than a million people must be evacuated from the northern part of the Gaza Strip to the south within 24 hours. Israel has informed the UN of this, the American news portal ‘Axios’ first reported on Friday evening. The Israeli military later released a statement on their official Telegram channel confirming the report.
Accordingly, all residents of the Gaza Strip must move to the area south of the Gaza River within 24 hours. “This evacuation is for your own safety,” Israeli authorities said.
A return to the north, for example to Gaza City, is only possible “after an explicit announcement with appropriate authorization from the armed forces”.
It is still unclear why the evacuation is taking place now. The Israeli military said only that it would “continue to operate on a significant scale in Gaza City in the coming days.” The armed forces have not announced whether this also marks the start of the expected ground offensive. “Hamas terrorists are hiding in Gaza City in tunnels under homes and in buildings where innocent Gaza Strip civilians reside,” it says simply. However, experts expect this to happen soon.
Is the ground offensive coming now?
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary General António Guterres, told Axios that the United Nations considered it “…impossible that such a mass of people could be evacuated within 24 hours without tragic humanitarian consequences.”
The UN has strongly called for the order to be lifted to prevent “what is already a tragedy from becoming a catastrophic situation”. The UN estimates that around 1.1 million people will be affected by the order. The hospitals in the Gaza Strip are already on the verge of collapse.
Israel has bombed the Gaza Strip repeatedly since Hamas’ attacks this weekend. The army is currently preparing a ground offensive. About 300,000 soldiers are being mobilized for this.
A Hamas spokesman told Reuters that the Israeli army’s statement was “fake news” and that Gazans “should not fall for it.” (zis)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
