UN says Israel's evacuation orders in Gaza endangering civilians, not protecting them

'There's been an average of 1 evacuation order every 2 days this month, forcing as many as a quarter of a million Palestinians to uproot their lives,' UN official says

Merve Aydogan |23.08.2024 - 




HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Thursday warned of the adverse effects of Israel's mass evacuation orders in the Gaza Strip, saying such orders are endangering the lives of civilians.

"The Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Muhannad Hadi, today warned that successive mass evacuation orders issued by Israeli forces are exposing people in Gaza to harm and depriving them of the essentials they need to survive," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters at a news conference.


"There has been an average of one evacuation order every two days this month – forcing as many as a quarter of a million Palestinians to uproot their lives yet again," Dujarric quoted Hadi as saying.

"Hadi said that if these evacuation orders are meant to protect civilians, they are in fact doing the exact opposite. They are forcing families to flee again – often under fire and with the few belongings they can carry with them – into an ever-shrinking area that is overcrowded, polluted, with limited services and – like the rest of Gaza – unsafe," Dujarric noted.

Emphasizing the impact of evacuation orders on aid work, Dujarric said: "Many of our humanitarian colleagues have been forced to move because of these directives, which affect their premises, warehouses and other facilities."

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack last Oct. 7 by Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

The Israeli onslaught has resulted in nearly 40,300 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and more than 93,100 injuries, according to local health authorities.

The ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.

Palestine's UN envoy invites those 'who have spine' to visit Gaza Strip, demand cease-fire

'Gaza does not need more paralysis and death,' Riyad Mansour tells UN Security Council

Merve Aydogan |23.08.2024 - 


HAMILTON, Canada

Palestine's envoy to the UN on Thursday reiterated his call for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and invited the UN Security Council members to witness firsthand the "horror" endured by Palestinians.

Speaking at a Security Council session on Palestine, Riyad Mansour said he calls on "all those who have spines to come and say we are coming to demand a cease-fire and to demand it now in the Gaza Strip."

"Gaza does not need more paralysis and death. First by bombs and bullets, now combined with occupation-sponsored famine and disease, Gaza has witnessed life destroyed. It needs life to be restored, and it needs it right now," Mansour said.

Describing the collapse of essential services under the ongoing Israeli assault, he said: "The Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip have witnessed and felt in their flesh, the planned collapse of all the requirements of life."

"Israeli government does not care about even its own citizens... It cares more about killing Palestinians than it cares about saving Israelis," the envoy said.

He reminded of US President Joe Biden's remarks about the need for a "minimum of 600 truckloads of humanitarian assistance to enter the Gaza Strip on a daily basis," and asked the council: "Who is stopping you from implementing this?"

"There is no excuse for the Israelis' continued killing of innocent Palestinian civilians, of kids, of babies," he stressed, and asked the council again: "How much longer are we going to fail them?"

Mansour further highlighted the Palestinian leadership's plans to pursue further action at the UN, including a push for the implementation of the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion on ending the Israeli occupation.

"We are going to initiate another action to put an end to this illegal occupation as soon as possible," he stated.

"The time for waiting is over. The time for action is now," he added.

He called on the UN Security Council to fulfill its mandate to maintain international peace and security, and reminded the members that they "are entrusted with the maintenance of international peace and security. Stop the bleeding in Gaza, impose an immediate cease-fire, stop the suffering, protect our children and all our civilians as international law and our collective humanity demand."

Meanwhile, Israel's new UN envoy Danny Dannon called Mansour "a terrorist in a suit" and claimed that if the Palestinian envoy would not condemn Hamas, then he is one of them.