The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) told Palestinian civilians in northern Gaza to leave their homes and evacuate to the southern part of the area on Friday, October 13th, The Times of Israel reported. Meanwhile, Hamas called for Gazans to stay, while the UN warned of a coming “humanitarian catastrophe” in the wake of Israel’s anticipated ground invasion.
According to the UN, nearly 350,000 Gazans have been internally displaced so far due to the seven days of airstrikes the IDF conducted in the Strip since Hamas’ bloody incursion into southern Israel last Saturday that left over 1,300 Israelis dead and up to 200 kidnapped.
Now Tel Aviv seems to be shifting gears and preparing for a ground invasion of northern Gaza, but not before letting innocent civilians evacuate first. According to the statement published on Friday morning, the IDF “calls for the evacuation of all civilians of Gaza City from their homes southwards for their own safety and protection, and to move to the area south of Wadi Gaza, as shown on the map ”
Effectively, the IDF urged Palestinians to leave the entire Gaza City and the surrounding areas, which have a population of around 1.1 million.
“You will be able to return to Gaza City only when another announcement permitting it is made,” the statement continued. “Hamas terrorists are hiding in Gaza City inside tunnels underneath houses and inside buildings populated with innocent Gazan civilians,” it explained, asking Palestinians to distance themselves from the terrorists, “who are using you as human shields.”
Not long after, Hamas proved the IDF right when it urged civilians not to “follow the propaganda evacuation instructions.”
According to numerous reports from inside Gaza City, Hamas fighters are patrolling the streets and stopping people who attempt to leave. “When they find people going to their cars, they force them to go back,” one Palestinian man told The Times of Israel. Others say they don’t plan to evacuate anyway because they have nowhere to go in the southern part of the Strip.
Meanwhile, the UN called for the evacuation order to be withdrawn, saying that it would be impossible to evacuate 1.1 million people within the 24 hours the IDF allegedly gave them. The UN also said that its shelters already operate above full capacity—with over 170,000 people currently residing in them—and they cannot take in any more internal refugees.
“The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” it said in a statement. “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.”
However, the IDF later denied that it had set a 24-hour deadline for the evacuation, as the UN asserted. “We are trying to provide the time, and we are doing a lot of effort, and we understand it won’t take 24 hours,” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari told reporters on Friday when asked to confirm the UN’s information. “I will not say it’s an accurate time,” he added.
At the same time, no neighboring Arab country is ready to take in any Gazan refugees, despite the continuous show of solidarity from every side. Egypt, for one, is keeping the Rafah border crossing closed to any Palestinian refugees and has told civilians in Gaza to stay in the area and “hold on.”
Moreover, Jordanian King Abdullah II has warned Israel against any attempt to displace Palestinians, externally or internally, saying there should be no “spillover” of the ongoing crisis into neighboring countries.
