GAZA, (PIC)
The United Nations (UN) has warned that Israel’s order for Palestinians to leave Gaza City will fuel mass suffering and is insisting that civilians must be protected and their needs must be met whether they flee or stay.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Wednesday that this warning from the UN humanitarian office means that all parties involved in the conflict in Gaza must respect international humanitarian law at all times. Protection of civilians and the infrastructure for their survival are key requirements of the law.
“The level of fighting and destruction that we are seeing in recent days, as the cease-fire talks are ongoing, is truly shocking,” Dujarric said.
The Israeli army earlier ordered all Palestinian civilians to leave Gaza City as it striked UNRWA’s headquarters there, a day after at least 27 people were killed and 53 injured in an Israeli attack on a school housing displaced civilians in Khan Yunis.
Gaza’s interior ministry has called on residents in Gaza City to refrain from following Israeli evacuation orders, saying the instructions are a part of the Israeli army’s psychological warfare against Palestinians.
The residents were directed to head to a “humanitarian zone” located in al-Mawasi, an area on the southern end of the Gaza Strip that has previously come under attack by the Israeli army.
The ministry said so-called safe corridors are, in fact, “death corridors” and those who flee will likely be killed. In previous evacuation orders, Palestinians were shot and arrested when they attempted to move southwards via Salah al-Din, a road stretching across the length of Gaza.
It urged residents to flee to areas nearby instead of attempting to leave to the south of the enclave.
The latest evacuation order comes as the Israeli army continues to intensify its attacks on Gaza City.
