White House calls Israel's Gaza evacuation 'tall order'

WASHINGTON

The White House stated on Friday that Israel's call for more than one million people in Gaza to evacuate to the south is a "tall order."

"That's gonna be a tall order, given how densely populated it is, given that it's a scene of combat," said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby in an interview with MSNBC.

"There are bombs falling and strikes happening. That is a lot of people to move in a very short period of time," he added.

Kirby noted that the US and Israeli army recognize "the challenge there", but added: "We understand what they're trying to do this -- to try to isolate the civilian population from Hamas, which is their real target."

The Israeli army late on Thursday informed the UN "that the entire population of Gaza north of Wadi Gaza should relocate to southern Gaza within the next 24 hours," UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement late Thursday.