The United Nations considers it impossible for such a move to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences, said Sthéphane Dujarric, spokesman for Secretary-General António Guterres, in a statement.

The spokesman said that around midnight Thursday, team leaders from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Department of Safety and Security in Gaza were informed by the Israeli army that the entire Gaza population north of Wadi Gaza should move south within the next 24 hours.

The same order applied to all UN personnel and refugees in their facilities, Dujarric said. The Organization strongly urges that any such order, if confirmed, be rescinded to avoid transforming what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation, he said.

The agency estimates that 1.1 million people would have to be evacuated from northern Gaza and all its personnel and those refugees in its facilities, including schools, health centers and clinics, it added.

For its part, the World Health Organization joined the call for Israel to cancel the displacement order, which amounts to a ‘death sentence’ for many, said World Health Organization spokesman Tarik Jasarevic.

In the same vein, the UN humanitarian affairs officer, Martin Griffiths, warned that ‘the noose around the civilian population in Gaza is tightening’.

The representative questioned in a message published on X how it is possible that such a large number of people can move through a densely populated war zone in just 24 hours.

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