The head of the Red Cross warned yesterday that it would be impossible to keep people safe during a mass evacuation of Gaza City, as Israel intensifies its assault.
Israel is pushing ahead with its plan to take full control of the whole Gaza Strip, starting with Gaza City, with the goal of destroying Hamas after nearly 23 months of war, while facing a global outcry over starvation in the besieged enclave.
“It is impossible that a mass evacuation of Gaza City could ever be done in a way that is safe and dignified under the current conditions,” Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement.
An evacuation would provoke a massive population displacement that no other area in the Gaza Strip is equipped to absorb, amid severe shortages of food, shelter, and medical supplies, Spoljaric said.
Many people in Gaza City would not be able to follow evacuation orders because they are starving, sick or injured, Spoljaric said.
International humanitarian law requires Israel to ensure that civilians have access to shelter, safety and nutrition, when evacuation orders are issued.
“These conditions cannot currently be met in Gaza. This makes any evacuation not only unfeasible but incomprehensible under the present circumstances,” Spoljaric added.
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