Israel's plan to forcibly evict one million people from Gaza city, half of Palestinian territory's population, is "impossible" to carry out in a safe and dignified manner, the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) said.
"Such an evacuation would trigger a massive population movement that no area in the Gaza Strip can absorb, given the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure and the extreme shortages of food, water, shelter and medical care," ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement on Saturday.
Israel's military has ordered residents to leave the city ahead of what the government has billed as a decisive battle to defeat Hamas and recover hostages held by the militant group.
But Ms Spoljaric said the order "would be imposed on civilians who are already traumatised by months of fighting and terrified by what could come next. Many are unable to comply with evacuation orders because they are starving, sick, injured or suffering from physical disabilities".
She pointed out that, under international humanitarian law, Israel "must do everything to ensure that civilians have satisfactory conditions of shelter, hygiene, health, safety and nutrition, and that families are not separated", after ordering them to move.
"These conditions cannot currently be met in Gaza. This makes any evacuation not only unfeasible but incomprehensible under the present circumstances," she said.
Israel has intensified attacks across Gaza city as its troops prepare to enter. The military on Friday declared the city a “dangerous combat zone” and said its daily pauses in fighting to allow the delivery of aid would be suspended.
Israel introduced the daily halt in fighting from 10am to 8pm earlier this month amid mounting international concern over rising hunger caused by Israeli restrictions on the entry of aid.
The decision to stop the daily pauses comes a week after the UN declared a famine in Gaza city.
Gaza's health ministry on Friday reported 79 people killed in Israeli attacks over the previous 24 hours, most of them in Gaza city, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.
The ministry reported 62 more deaths on Saturday, including four people killed in previous attacks whose bodies had just been recovered, raising the Palestinian death toll to 63,371 since the war began in October 2023. The number of injured rose to 159,835, it said.
It also reported 10 more deaths from hunger, raising the number of such deaths since the war began to 332, including 124 children.
Israel has restricted aid deliveries throughout the war, including a nearly two-month total blockade imposed in early March. Israel justified the move by accusing Hamas of stealing supplies, without providing proof.
The war began with an attack on southern Israel by Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza on October 7, 2023. The militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostage. There are 48 hostages still in captivity, of whom only 20 are alive, according to the Israeli military.
