By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA (Reuters) -The head of the Red Cross warned on Saturday 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.
The Israeli military said on Friday that it “will continue to support humanitarian efforts alongside ongoing manoeuvring and offensive operations against terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip in order to protect the state of Israel”.
Israel has urged civilians to leave for the south of the Palestinian enclave.
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.
The conflict began with a Hamas-led attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people according to Israeli tallies and seizing about 250 hostages.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 63,000 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to Gaza health officials.
(Reporting by Olivia Le PoidevinEditing by Gareth Jones)
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