Israel prepares to launch one of the largest humanitarian disasters in the 21st century

The Israeli authorities gave Gaza residents 24 hours to evacuate before the start of the ground operation, representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations, Stephane Dujarric said.

According to him, the order applies to all residents of Gaza north of Wadi Gaza. They must move to the south of the sector within 24 hours.

It goes about the evacuation of as many as 1.1 million Gaza residents.

The UN strongly called for the order to be revoked, but Israel said that such calls were shameful.

Meanwhile, Hamas called on residents of the northern part of the Gaza Strip to stay home and stand firm in the face of this psychological warfare.

The Palestinian group also called on the UN and UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) to take action against Israeli attempts to force the evacuation of Palestinians from Gaza.

Tel Aviv is preparing for the ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip and is building up forces on the southern border.

UN declares humanitarian disaster in Gaza

Earlier, representative for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Adnan Abu Hasna, said that the collapse of the health care system in the Gaza Strip started because there was not enough fuel to keep hospitals running. There are neither electricity nor water supplies in the enclave, the official said.

As of October 12, over 338,000 Gaza residents left their homes. About 23,000 buildings in the enclave have been reduced to rubble and are no longer suitable for use.

Israel traps 1.1 Gaza's inside enclave

Rafah checkpoint, the only exit from the Gaza Strip to the territory of its neighbour Egypt, was closed on October 10 after Israeli strikes on the Palestinian part of the border crossing. Israel also closed its checkpoints to Palestinian refugees, having thus left the Gazans unable to leave the enclave.

According to Hamas, employees of international institutions have not left the northern part of the region. However, representatives for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported that they had to relocate to the south of the Gaza Strip.

The streets in the northern part of the Gaza Strip have been deserted, Al Jazeera reported. Local residents told the TV channel that due to interruptions in Internet access and the destruction of telephone networks, people could not receive complete information and most residents were still unaware of the Israeli army warning about the need to evacuate.

In the south of the Gaza Strip, there is a difficult situation with the accommodation of refugees, Al Jazeera also said. UN schools are overcrowded, there are no free shelters available.

The Office of the UN Secretary General criticised the position of Israel. It is impossible to evacuate over 1.1 million people within the required 24 hours "without devastating humanitarian consequences.”

According to the UN, more than 423,000 Gazans have already been forced to leave their homes since the escalation began.

The Palestinian Red Crescent called on the world community to intervene immediately to prevent the humanitarian catastrophe "that is unfolding right now”:

"We do not have the means to evacuate the sick, the wounded, as well as the elderly and the disabled to our hospitals. There are no safe zones in the entire Gaza Strip."

Egypt has taken "unprecedented measures” and tightened security along its borders with the Gaza Strip to prevent breaches, a senior Egyptian security official told The Associated Press.

The Egyptian official called Israel's possible ground operation in the Gaza Strip a "grave mistake" and added that Egypt was working "around the clock" with Tel Aviv's allies, including Washington and European authorities, to prevent such a scenario and stop the war.