UN: evacuation of more than a million Gazans will not be without “devastating humanitarian consequences”
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The Israeli military called for the population of northern Gaza to be moved to the southern part of the strip within 24 hours. “The UN urges that any such order, if indeed issued, be rescinded, so that the current tragedy does not escalate into a catastrophic situation,” it said. message UN press service.
The UN believes that such a massive displacement cannot occur without devastating humanitarian consequences, and is asking Israel to reconsider its call.
Just before midnight on Thursday, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said U.N. officials in Gaza had been informed by Israeli military liaison officers that all residents of northern Gaza must move to the south of the strip within 24 hours.
According to Dujarric, about 1.1 million people must leave the northern part of the Gaza Strip. This order also applies to all UN employees and those located at UN facilities, including schools, medical centers and clinics.
The United Nations considers carrying out such a large-scale population transfer impossible without devastating humanitarian consequences and calls for the order to be rescinded, Dujarric said.
Independent UN expert Paula Gaviria Betancourt also called for the order to be cancelled. She condemned the evacuation order as “a crime against humanity and a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law.”
“Forcible population transfers constitute a crime against humanity and collective punishment is prohibited by international humanitarian law,” said the Special Rapporteur on the rights of internally displaced persons. “We are horrified by the prospect of another million Palestinians joining the more than 423,000 people already forcibly displaced from their homes by violence over the past week.”
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