ALWAGHT- A senior Palestinian official claims that Israel is making a desperate attempt to "ethnically cleanse" the entire population of Gaza City.
"[It’s] attempting to force hundreds of thousands of Palestinians out of their city and homes," said Mustafa Barghouti, head of the Palestinian National Initiative party, in a statement on Wednesday.
"Netanyahu's fascist government has never strayed from its original goal of ethnic cleansing the entire population of the Gaza Strip."
On Wednesday, Israel ordered all residents of Gaza City to evacuate and move towards Deir al-Balah. The military dropped leaflets urging residents to leave Gaza City immediately.
Israel, defying a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, faces international condemnation for its brutal campaign in Gaza.
Despite designating Deir al-Balah and Zawaida as safe zones, the military has continued to attack these areas.
In the past 10 days, Israel has instructed hundreds of thousands of people in Khan Younis in the south, Shujaya in central Gaza, and several neighborhoods of Gaza City to evacuate. This has increased the total number of displaced individuals from 1.7 million in May to an estimated 1.9 million now, according to the UN.
Last week, a UN official confirmed that about 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced since October.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, in a news conference with his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry, stated that Israel’s order for Gaza City residents to evacuate is a "red line for Jordan and Egypt." He emphasized that both countries strongly oppose the displacement of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has accused Israel's latest deadly attack on a school in Khan Younis of being intentional genocide and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
