UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres has urged the Israeli government to reconsider its decision to relocate the northern Gaza civilians calling it “dangerous and deeply troubling”. He emphasised that international humanitarian law & human rights law must be respected & upheld even during times of war and said “Even wars have rules.”Even wars have rules.International humanitarian law & human rights law must be respected & upheld civilians must be protected & also never used as shields.All hostages in Gaza must be released immediately. pic.twitter.com/nlHt31ZlkA— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) October 14, 2023Guterres has also called for an immediate release of the hostages taken by Hamas in this war. He highlighted the extreme gravity of the situation citing that such mass migration on such extremely short notice could have devastating humanitarian consequences.He also spoke about the hundreds of UN staff members who are working in the region and said “It applies to United Nations staff members and more than 200,000 people sheltering in U.N. facilities, including schools, health centres and clinics”.UN Under-Secretary-General on Gaza evacuationThe UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Martin Griffiths also released a statement on the social media platform X saying the evacuation of 1.1 million north Gaza residents defies the rules of war and basic humanity.In his statement, he also mentioned the crumbling infrastructure in Gaza due to the continuous bombarding by the Israeli forces. He mentioned that the roads and homes have been blocked and reduced to rubble with no safe place to go.He also emphasised the catastrophic humanitarian consequences this mass displacement will result in since there is no safe passage and access to basic services in the region.The order to evacuate 1.1 million people from northern Gaza defies the rules of war and basic humanity. pic.twitter.com/8WlNTKtfaF— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) October 13, 2023Israel-Hamas conflictOn Friday the Israeli Defence Forces called for the evacuation of Gaza saying, “The IDF calls for the evacuation of all civilians of Gaza City from their homes southwards for their own safety and protection and move to the area south of the Wadi Gaza, as shown on the map. The Hamas terrorist organization waged a war against the State of Israel and Gaza City is an area where military operations take place. This evacuation is for your own safety.”The United Nations also said that more than 338,000 Palestinians have been displaced due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, CNN reported. He further said that nearly 218,000 of those are sheltering in 92 schools run by the UN Relief and Works Agency.
