Israel’s demand to leave northern Gaza within 24 hours has sparked panic. People are desperately trying to get to the south. Aid organizations warn: An evacuation in such a short time is impossible.
After Israel’s request to leave the north of the Gaza Strip within 24 hours, chaotic conditions apparently arise. “It’s chaos, nobody understands what to do,” said Inas Hamdan, an employee of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip.
According to some reports, she packed belongings in her bags to escape. All UN personnel in Gaza City and the northern coastal area have been asked to flee south to Rafah.
Also the ARD correspondent Christian Limpert reports on chaotic conditions. “People simply don’t know where to seek protection.” It is completely unclear how this number of people could be brought south so quickly.
Too many people, not enough time to evacuate
“Forget food, forget electricity, forget fuel, the only worry now is whether you will make it, whether you will live,” said Nebal Farsach, spokeswoman for the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza City, through tears. It is impossible to safely evacuate 1.2 million people.
Imad Abu Alaa, a UNRWA worker in charge of shelters in the northern Gaza Strip, made similar comments. There are far too many people who need to be evacuated in too short a time, which cannot be accomplished. “What about UN shelters? We’re talking about civilians. Suddenly that doesn’t count anymore?”
Most residents had still not heard any direct instructions from the military to leave the area, residents told the AP news agency. But panic is slowly spreading as employees of UN organizations and other international groups have been told by their superiors that people should immediately flee south. However, it is not known whether there are humanitarian escape corridors.
Farsach from the Palestinian Crescent added that there are patients in hospitals who cannot be transferred under the current conditions. Many medical professionals also refused to leave. They didn’t want to let their patients down. Instead, these doctors called their colleagues to say goodbye.
Army: Secure evacuation as much as possible
According to a spokesman, Israel’s army wants to make the evacuation of residents as safe as possible. It is clear to Israel that an evacuation would take more than 24 hours, said Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari. But he did not give a clear time frame. The call was sent to residents on various channels. Hagari said that everything would be done to avoid hitting sensitive places such as hospitals in air strikes.
Half of the population affected
Israel had called on more than a million people to evacuate – around half of the 2.3 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip. “Residents of Gaza City, for your own safety and that of your families, leave the city south and away from Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields,” the Israeli military said. The army will carry out significant operations in Gaza City in the coming days. The terrorists hid in the city in tunnels under buildings and in buildings occupied by civilians.
According to Israeli figures, more than 6,000 bombs have been dropped over the Palestinian territories so far. Above all, Hamas’ infrastructure should be destroyed. Gaza is sealed off – no drinking water, no food, no electricity is available. According to the army, the closure will last until the people abducted by Hamas are released. The residents of northern Gaza could only return if Israel announced this.
Hamas calls on people to stay
While many of the more than one million people try to flee, Hamas has urged the population to ignore Israel’s call. The residents should “stay steadfast in their homes” and withstand the occupation’s “vile psychological warfare,” warned the Hamas refugee affairs authority.
There are reports that the Islamists are actively preventing people from fleeing. It is currently unclear whether this is true, said ARD correspondent Limpert. “It’s not the case that Hamas controls its own population there with armed fighters.” The situation is too chaotic for that after the massive bombardment in the last few days. What is clear, however, is that one of Hamas’s strategies is to broadcast images of civilian victims to the world.