From the Liveblog of
Friday, October 13, 2023
IDF warns 1 million Palestinians in northern Gaza to evacuate within 24 hours — UN
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
The IDF notified the United Nations at midnight on Friday that the entire Palestinian population north of Wadi Gaza should relocate to southern Gaza within 24 hours, a UN spokesperson says.
The message indicates that the IDF could be readying to launch a ground invasion after six days of aerial bombardment in response to the massive Hamas onslaught on Saturday.
Roughly 1.1 million Palestinians live north of Wadi Gaza, the spokesperson says in a statement.
The warning applied to UN staff and those sheltered in UN facilities in those areas.
“The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” the spokesperson adds. “The United Nations strongly appeals for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation.”
The spokesperson says the warning was delivered to team leaders of the UN Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the UN’s Department of Safety and Security in Gaza by their liaison officers in the IDF.
Israel has already imposed a complete siege on Gaza; shutting off water, electricity and gas; shuttering its own border crossings into the enclave; and bombing Egypt’s Rafah crossing, temporarily rendering it unusable as well.
The Times of Israel Community.