BRUSSELS, January 11./TASS/. Statements from Israeli officials about forcing Gaza residents to leave the area are "dangerous," High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said.

"Declarations by some IL government representatives about making life impossible for civilians in Gaza ultimately forcing them to leave are disturbing, counterproductive and dangerous," the EU foreign policy chief wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

"Civilians in Gaza must be protected. Insinuations of forced displacement are completely unacceptable," Borrell blogged.

Early in January, Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the "voluntary relocation" of Gaza Strip residents outside the enclave as a way to resolve the conflict and ensure security.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank.

According to the Palestinian side, almost 23,000 people have been killed in Gaza, with many children among them. UN humanitarian agencies say the food and healthcare situation is catastrophic in the enclave.