GENEVA, October 17. /TASS/. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has called for a humanitarian pause in combat in the area of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in order to provide aid to Gaza residents, Spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani said.
"We echo the UN call for a humanitarian pause to enable aid delivery and to prevent further suffering and deaths of the already much beleaguered civilian population of Gaza. Urgent immediate, unimpeded humanitarian access needs to be ensured," the spokeswoman said.
She reiterated that "international law requires that any lawful temporary evacuation by Israel, as the occupying power, of an area" must be accompanied by the provision of proper accommodation for all evacuees, including "satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition." "There appears to have been no attempt by Israel to ensure this for the 1.1 million civilians ordered to move," Shamdasani said. The OHCHR is "concerned that this order combined with the imposition of a ‘complete siege’ on Gaza may not be considered as lawful temporary evacuation and would therefore amount to a forcible transfer of civilians - in breach of international law."
Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN Secretary General, said earlier that Israel had informed the UN that 1.1 million Palestinians should evacuate to the south of the Gaza Strip within 24 hours. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) justified this by saying that Hamas militants were hiding in tunnels under civilian buildings in Gaza. The call for the evacuation also applies to all UN staff, along with those who are taking shelter at UN facilities. Hamas, however, called on people to ignore Israel’s recommendation. It also asked the UN to take measures to prevent people from being forced from their homes. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said during his talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in the Jordanian capital that he was against the forcible relocation of Gaza residents.
Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when Hamas militants staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its operation as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has declared a state of war readiness and announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip, home to 2.3 million Palestinians. Clashes are underway in the West Bank as well.
According to the latest official data, more than 2,800 Palestinians have been killed since the renewed outbreak of violence, while over 11,200 have suffered wounds. In Israel, up to 1,500 people have lost their lives and more than 4,200 have been wounded.