Humanitarian workers have no knowledge of plans to evacuate Palestinians from Gaza’s southernmost city ahead of an expected Israeli assault, but such a transfer would not be possible under current conditions, a Red Cross official has told AFP.
“When we see the level of destruction in the middle area [of Gaza] and in the north, it’s not clear to us where people will be moved to, … where they can have decent shelter and essential services,” said Fabrizio Carboni, Middle East regional director for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“So today, with the information we have and from where we stand, we don’t see this [massive evacuation] as possible,” he said on the sidelines of an aid conference in the United Arab Emirates.
More than 1.5 million people of Gaza’s population of 2.4 million had sheltered in Rafah, the last major population center in Gaza that Israeli ground troops have yet to enter.
“We don’t see for the time being any plans for civilian evacuations,” Carboni said during the interview at the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference.
But “there is no condition for a military operation without devastating humanitarian consequences,” he added.
“Considering the level of destruction, considering that people are tired, some of them wounded and sick, and the limited access to food and essential services, I see [evacuations] as extremely challenging.”
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