UN 'not taking part in any involuntary evacuations' in Rafah

HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Monday warned about the "devastating consequences" of a possible Israeli military operation to Rafah city in the southern Gaza Strip, saying that the UN would not be involved in any evacuations.

"I can tell you that clearly the United Nations is not taking part in any involuntary evacuations or setting up of any displacement zones in southern Gaza," Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters during his briefing.

"As we've said repeatedly, any operation in Rafah would push an already fragile aid operation to the breaking point," he added.

Dujarric said that until now, all fuel entering Gaza comes through Rafah crossing and cautioned that any disruption to this fuel supply will hold UN's humanitarian work.

Citing the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs statement, the spokesman said that Israel's Monday evacuation orders for East Rafah will only worsen the civilians' suffering.

"They are being instructed to relocate to Al-Mawasi, which is already overcrowded and lacking safety and essential humanitarian services. A mass evacuation on this scale is impossible to carry out safely," Dujarric added.

Earlier, the Israeli army issued immediate evacuation orders for Palestinians in the eastern neighborhoods of Rafah and called on them to move to the town of al-Mawasi in southern Gaza.

Around 100,000 Palestinian civilians are estimated to be living in the areas to be evacuated, according to Israeli Army Radio.

Rafah is home to more than 1.5 million displaced Palestinians who have taken refuge from the war launched by Israel following Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that killed nearly 1,200 people.

Since then, the Israeli onslaught has killed more than 34,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children, besides causing a humanitarian catastrophe.

Nearly seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians there.