GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center ) The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, on Saturday condemned the Israeli occupation forces’ plan to evacuate Gaza City in preparation for occupying it, stressing that it is impossible to carry out such a mass evacuation safely.
In a press statement, Spoljaric said, “It is impossible to carry out a mass evacuation of Gaza City residents in a safe and dignified way under the current circumstances,” describing the evacuation plans as “not only unfeasible but also incomprehensible.”
She added, “Such an evacuation would trigger a massive displacement that no area in the Gaza Strip could absorb, given the extent of destruction to civilian infrastructure and the severe shortages of food, water, shelter, and medical care.”
Her remarks came after the Israeli occupation army declared Gaza City a “dangerous combat zone” on Friday, as it prepares to seize control of the largest city in the Strip nearly two years after the war began.
So far, the occupation army has not ordered residents to leave the city, but its Arabic-language spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, said on Wednesday that evacuating the city was “inevitable.”
Israel is facing international and domestic pressure to end its devastating war on Gaza, where the majority of the population has already been displaced and the United Nations has declared famine in the territory.
The UN estimates that the population of Gaza Governorate, which includes Gaza City and surrounding areas, is around one million people.
Since October 7, 2023, Israel, with full US support, has been carrying out a genocide in Gaza involving killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, while ignoring all international appeals and International Court of Justice orders to stop. The Israeli genocide has left 63,371 people martyred, 159,835 injured, more than 9,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, and famine claiming the lives of 332 people, including 123 children.
