As war looms Israel calls for 1.1m people to evacuate northern Gaza

The warning is dire, its implications almost biblical. Just before midnight on October 12th Israel told the United Nations that the whole of northern Gaza, home to roughly 1.1m people, should be evacuated within 24 hours. It then issued the same ultimatum directly to Gazans, telling them to flee south of Wadi Gaza, a riverbed that bisects the territory. “You will be able to return to Gaza City only when another announcement permitting it is made,” the army said in a statement.

What started as an unspeakable crime on October 7th, when Palestinian militants crossed the border and murdered more than 1,300 Israelis, most of them civilians, may now lead to unimaginable catastrophe in Gaza. “The United Nations considers it impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences,” says Stéphane Dujarric, a UN spokesman.