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15-10-2023
UNITED NATIONS: Tens of thousands of Palestinians were estimated to have headed south from northern Gaza following the Israeli order, according to the United Nations (UN), which said more than 400,000 Palestinians had been internally displaced due to hostilities prior to the directive.
Many others, however, said they would stay. “Death is better than leaving,” said Mohammad, 20, outside a building smashed by an Israeli air strike near the centre of Gaza.
Mosques broadcast the message: “Hold on to your homes. Hold on to your land.”
The UN and other organizations warned of a disaster if so many people were forced to flee, and said the siege should be lifted to let in aid.
“We need immediate humanitarian access throughout Gaza, so that we can get fuel, food and water to everyone in need. Even wars have rules,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday.
Biden emphasized the humanitarian crisis as a top priority, stating that US teams are working with Israel, Egypt, Jordan, other Arab governments, and the UN in the region.
“The overwhelming majority of Palestinians had nothing to do with Hamas and Hamas’ appalling attacks,” he said. “And they’re suffering as a result as well.”
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said it was impossible for Gazans to heed Israel’s order to move south without “devastating humanitarian consequences”, prompting a rebuke from Israel that the UN should condemn Hamas and support Israel’s right to self-defence, media reported.
“The noose around the civilian population in Gaza is tightening. How are 1.1 million people supposed to move across a densely populated war zone in less than 24 hours?” UN aid chief Martin Griffiths wrote on social media. (Int’l News Desk)
