The Israeli army is asking for the evacuation of all civilians from Gaza City to the south for their own safety, it said in a statement, and is calling on them to move to the area south of Gaza.

In their statement the IDF states: “The terrorist organization Hamas has waged war against the State of Israel and Gaza City is an area where military operations are taking place. This evacuation is for your own safety. You will be able to return to Gaza City only when another announcement is made to allow it. Do not approach the security fence area with the State of Israel.

» Hamas terrorists are hiding in Gaza City in tunnels under houses and in buildings inhabited by innocent Gazans.

» Citizens of Gaza City, evacuate to the south for your own safety and the safety of your families and distance yourself from the Hamas terrorists who are using you as human shields.

» In the coming days, the IDF will continue to operate significantly in Gaza City and will make extensive efforts to avoid harming civilians.

UN: Cancel the mandate

The United Nations said it had been told by the Israeli military that some 1.1 million Palestinians in Gaza had been ordered to move to the southern sector of the enclave within 24 hours. The UN called for this order to be “rescinded”.

“The United Nations considers it impossible to do something like this without catastrophic humanitarian consequences,” Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a press release.

“The United Nations strongly appeals that any such order, if confirmed, be rescinded in order to avoid turning what is already a tragedy into a disaster,” he added.

According to Mr. Dujarric, the order applies to everyone without exception, including UN staff and thousands of people who have taken refuge in the international organization’s facilities, mainly schools, health centers and clinics.

Israel: The UN’s reaction is a shame

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, described the international body’s reaction to the Israeli army’s order to leave southwards within 24 hours for those residents of the Gaza Strip living north of the Wadi Gaza community to leave as a “shame”, blaming its services that “for years they have turned a blind eye” to the use of the civilian population as a shield and civilian infrastructure to store weapons.

“Instead of standing by Israel whose citizens were massacred by Hamas, it is trying to prevent harm to civilians, the UN is preaching to it,” the ambassador added.

Hamas: Israel’s ultimatum is fake news

Hamas called the warning to Palestinians to move to southern Gaza “false propaganda,” Reuters reports. The militants added that civilians in Gaza should not follow the order.

According to skynews.com Israel continues to move its tanks to the Gaza border.