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Israel warns 1.1 million people to leave northern Gaza.
But the civilians have nowhere to run.
At the same time, Israel has moved in with combat vehicles and armed forces.
– We need immediate humanitarian access to Gaza, says UN chief Antonio Guterres.
On Friday, the Israeli military released leaflets across northern Gaza with Arabic text to evacuate.
This follows the demand this morning for 1.1 million people to evacuate to the southern part of Gaza within 24 hours.
A “horrific” demand, according to the UN aid agency for Palestinians, UNRWA.
– This will only lead to unprecedented levels of misery, and push the people of Gaza even closer to the abyss, said Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, in a statement.
Israel has also entered the border with combat vehicles and armed forces. The warning to civilians may mean they are preparing a full ground offensive.
Can prepare full ground offensive – residents flee
Late on Friday, the country’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a televised speech with two short messages: “Hamas must be destroyed”, and:
– This is just the beginning. We will come out of this war stronger.
While residents are being warned to leave the northern parts of Gaza, there is no way to escape the country. A few days ago, Israel also stopped all supplies of fuel, water, food and medicine to the area, and the roads out of the country are blocked.
The unprecedented Israeli evacuation order set off mass hysteria among many of the residents. Images from the area also show people packing their cars full of supplies and fleeing south into Gaza.
Others show how mothers walk hand in hand with their children, or with the youngest in their arms.
– You can die anywhere here. But if they tell us to leave, it means they will do terrible things to people here, a Gaza resident told the newspaper.
The hospitals in the northern parts of Gaza have been faced with the choice of leaving patients to die – or stay. Several of the very sickest patients cannot be moved, writes the Washington Post.
The UN warns: The evacuation order must be lifted
The UN has issued an official statement warning of the escalating situation. At the same time, they appeal to Israel to suspend plans for a ground offensive, and stop the forced evacuation of civilians.
“The UN strongly appeals that any such order, if confirmed, be rescinded. This is so that what is already a tragedy does not turn into a catastrophic situation,” they write.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sounded the alarm on Friday evening that the situation in Gaza is at a “new and dangerous low”.
– We need immediate humanitarian access to Gaza, so that we can get fuel, food and water to everyone who needs it. Even in war there are rules, he says.
Healthcare close to collapse – soon running out of supplies
He also addressed the high death toll, on both sides of the war. A third of the dead in Gaza are children, writes Washington Post.
– The horrific terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel that killed more than 1,200 people and injured thousands more last Saturday, were followed by intense bombings against Gaza, which have already killed 1,800 people and injured thousands more, Antonio Guterres said.
– After days of airstrikes, the Israeli Defense Forces have ordered the Palestinians in Gaza City and its surroundings to flee to the southern parts of the territory, he continues.
He also warned that moving more than 1 million people across a densely populated war zone, to a place without food, water, or shelter, when the entire area is under siege, involves great dangers. Something that in some cases can be completely impossible, according to Antonio Guterres.
– Healthcare is on the verge of collapse. Mortuary floods; eleven health workers have been killed in the line of duty and there have been 34 attacks on health facilities in Gaza in recent days, he says.
“Has nothing to do with Hamas”
US President Joe Biden has also commented on the situation.
– We cannot forget the fact that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians have nothing to do with Hamas. They also suffer as a result of this, he says.
Biden was also asked about what an Israeli ground offensive would mean for Gaza, writes CNN.
He answered with one word:
– Death.
The war between Hamas and Israel started a week ago, when Hamas attacked Israel. A large number of civilians in both Gaza and Israel have died in attacks since then.