GENEVA: The head of the international Red Cross has denounced Israel’s plans for a mass evacuation of Gaza City ahead of a military takeover.
International Committee of the Red Cross president Mirjana Spoljaric insisted there was no way such an evacuation could be done safely under current conditions.
“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,“ she said in a statement.
“Such an evacuation would trigger a massive population movement that no area in the Gaza Strip can absorb, given the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure and the extreme shortages of food, water, shelter and medical care,“ she warned.
Her comments followed Israel’s military declaration of Gaza City as “a dangerous combat zone” as it prepared to conquer the occupied Palestinian territory’s largest city after almost two years of war.
The Israeli military did not call for immediate evacuation but the army’s Arabic-language spokesman said the city’s evacuation was “inevitable”.
Israel faces mounting pressure at home and abroad to end its devastating offensive in Gaza where the vast majority of the population has been displaced at least once.
The United Nations has declared a famine in Gaza and estimates nearly one million people currently live in Gaza governorate including Gaza City and its surroundings.
Any evacuation order “would be imposed on civilians who are already traumatised by months of fighting and terrified by what could come next”, Spoljaric said.
“Many are unable to comply with evacuation orders because they are starving, sick, injured or suffering from physical disabilities,“ she pointed out.
She stressed that “all civilians are protected by international humanitarian law (IHL), whether they leave or stay behind, and must be allowed to return home”.
Spoljaric highlighted that “IHL requires that when evacuation orders are issued, Israel must do everything to ensure that civilians have satisfactory conditions of shelter, hygiene, health, safety and nutrition, and that families are not separated”.
“These conditions cannot currently be met in Gaza,“ she said.
“This makes any evacuation not only unfeasible but incomprehensible under the present circumstances.”
The ICRC president reiterated the call for an immediate ceasefire, a mass-influx of aid and for Palestinian group Hamas to release its remaining Israeli hostages.
“Any further escalation of the conflict will only lead to more death, destruction and displacement,“ she said. – AFP