The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has issued a dire warning to the United Nations ordering the intergovernmental organization to remove its staff and urge Palestinians living in a region of northern Gaza to evacuate south within the next 24 hours.
U.N. spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed the news to the Associated Press, Axios and other news outlets early Friday morning while imploring Jerusalem to reconsider, stressing that the order would affect as many as 1.1 million people—a near-unprecedented migration that could have “devastating humanitarian consequences.”
“The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences [and] strongly appeals for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded, avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation,” Dujarric said.
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On X, formerly Twitter, Friday morning, the IDF posted a series of messages, calling “on all residents of Gaza City to evacuate their homes, move south for their protection and settle in the area south of the Gaza River,” while warning that “this evacuation is for your personal safety.”
The IDF continued, telling residents to stay away from Gaza City, alleging Hamas militants “are hiding in Gaza City in tunnels under houses in Gaza City,” while claiming they are using civilians as a human shield. “The IDF will continue to operate significantly in Gaza City in the coming days, and wishes to avoid harming civilians.”
Hamas responded to the evacuation order with fury, telling residents of Gaza that the Israeli warning was “propaganda and psychological warfare” and they should ignore it and remain in their homes.
The U.N. Agency for Palestine Refugees has already relocated its central operations centre and international staff to the south, it confirmed on X, and urged “Israeli Authorities to protect all civilians in UNRWA shelters including schools.”
In a statement to CNN, Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan took aim at the U.N.’s response.
“For many years, the UN has turned a blind eye to the arming of Hamas and its use of the civilian population and civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip as a hiding place for its weapons and murder,” Erdan said.
“Now, instead of standing by Israel, whose citizens were slaughtered by Hamas terrorists and who tries to minimize harm to those not involved, it preaches to Israel. It is better for the UN to focus now on returning the hostages, condemning Hamas, and supporting Israel’s right to defend itself.”
It’s just the latest escalation in what’s become a bloodbath on both sides. By Thursday, six days after full-out warfare erupted, more than 1,500 people have been killed in Gaza, the Palestinian health ministry said, with another 1,300 killed in Israel during a blistering assault that saw women and children targeted alongside IDF soldiers. Nearly 10,000 have been injured on both sides.
The war began Saturday morning when fighters with the Palestinian militant group Hamas crossed into Israel and began to massacre civilians at several locations—including a music festival and planned community near the border with Gaza.
Israel immediately retaliated and within a day had officially declared war. In a televised statement following the attacks, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: “Every Hamas terrorist is a dead man.” His defense minister, Yoav Gallant, added: “We will wipe them off the face of the Earth.”
The residents of Gaza have borne the brunt of Israel’s wrath, with heavy bombardment decimating entire neighborhoods and turning much of the area to rubble.
Earlier Thursday it was also revealed that Israel had dropped incendiary weapons carrying the highly combustible chemical white phosphorus onto Gaza, according to a report from the non-governmental organization Human Rights Watch.
White phosphorous is not outright banned in international warfare, but using it in densely populated civilian areas like Gaza may constitute a violation of international humanitarian law, HRW said.
It’s not the first time Israel has used white phosphorus in Gaza—but it is likely the first time since 2013, when the country’s military agreed to halt its use of the weapons amid mushrooming backlash to a previous campaign. Israel at the time notably did reserve the right to resume its use of incendiary weapons with “extreme exception in highly particular circumstances.”
