Israel has ordered the evacuation of 1.1 million Palestinians from Northern Gaza to the South in the next 24 hours.
It can’t be done, of course. Israel knows this. Hamas knows this, and the UN knows it. The Israeli announcement is a gambit designed to create maximum chaos that will impede any response by Hamas while making it easier for the IDF to operate. And the psychological weapon of panicked civilians is exactly the response that Israel was hoping for.
“Civilians of Gaza City, evacuate south for your own safety and the safety of your families and distance yourself from Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said.
“In the following days, the IDF will continue to operate significantly in Gaza City and make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians.”
Images on social media showed the IDF dropping leaflets warning the population to leave.
“For your safety, you should not return home until further notice from the IDF,” the leaflet said. “All public shelters known in Gaza have to be vacated,” it added.
Meanwhile, the UN says it’s impossible for civilians to evacuate “without devastating humanitarian consequences.”
Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said in a statement that the UN “strongly appeals for any such order, if confirmed, to be rescinded avoiding what could transform what is already a tragedy into a calamitous situation.”
Indeed, it’s an open question whether the coming ground assault in Gaza or the forced evacuation will cost more lives. But the IDF isn’t trying to kill anyone. Their one and only goal is to protect the lives of their soldiers. And if they can hinder the response of their enemies by putting a few hundred thousand panicking civilians on the road, all the better.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) described Israel’s call to move Gaza civilians as “horrendous” on Friday, adding that the enclave is fast becoming a “hell hole and is on the brink of collapse.”
Meanwhile, the Norwegian Refugee Council has warned that the relocation of Gaza civilians amounts “to the war crime of forcible transfer.” Secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland said the order “must be reversed.”
But the IDF has accused Hamas of “hiding behind the people of Gaza” and of instructing civilians to “ignore” Israel’s warnings to evacuate to the south.” IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said during a briefing that it was “just another example” of how Hamas “does not care about the safety of people in Gaza.”
I’m pretty sure that right about now the Biden administration is regretting giving Israel a blank check to deal with Hamas as they see fit. The Israel-hating left — which includes several members of the Biden administration and high-ranking Democrats in Congress — is going to start screaming about “war crimes” before too long. And Biden has made no secret of his disdain and dislike of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. How long before support for Israel from the administration starts wavering?
The Biden administration said Thursday it’s “working very diligently” with Israel and Egypt on safe passage out of Gaza for civilians ahead of a possible ground incursion, according to White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby.
Israel has stood firm in its response.
IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus told CNN: “We are at war with Hamas and we will not allow anything into the Gaza strip that supports the fighting ability of Hamas. If it comes to the price of inconvenience for the population, so be it.”
Hamas believes the evacuation order is bogus and that Israel would never risk alienating most of the world by causing the deaths of thousands through forced evacuation. But the Palestinian Red Crescent is telling people not to take any chances.
“Forget about food, forget about electricity, forget about fuel. The only concern now is just if you’ll make it, if you’re going to live,” said Nebal Farsakh, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Red Crescent in Gaza City, said as she began to weep.
That’s good advice to deal with the coming tragedy.
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