Israel's order for Palestinians to evacuate from eastern Rafah in Gaza is "inhumane", the UN rights chief said Monday, with Israel widely expected to push ahead with an offensive into the city.
Volker Turk said forcing hundreds of thousands of people to flee to areas with almost no access to aid for survival was "inconceivable" and warned that the offensive would push suffering and destruction beyond already "unbearable" levels.
"Gazans continue to be hit with bombs, disease, and even famine," the United Nations' high commissioner for human rights said in a statement.
"And today, they have been told that they must relocate yet again as Israeli military operations into Rafah scale up.
"This is inhumane. It runs contrary to the basic principles of international humanitarian and human rights laws, which have the effective protection of civilians as their overriding concern."
The statement said that "civilian deaths, suffering and destruction were set to increase beyond already unbearable levels".
Israel's military on Monday called for the evacuation of Palestinians from eastern Rafah, ahead of a long-threatened ground invasion of the southern Gaza city, the prospect of which has triggered widespread international alarm.
"Forcibly relocating hundreds of thousands from Rafah to areas which have already been flattened and where there is little shelter and virtually no access to humanitarian assistance necessary for their survival is inconceivable. It will only expose them to more danger and misery," said Turk.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said the evacuation order would exacerbate the suffering of people living in already precarious conditions.
"The military incursion will plunge this crisis into unprecedented levels of humanitarian need," the WHO said.
"It also poses a risk to the only crossing for fuel into Gaza, which could halt the delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid and services, including the few partially-functional health facilities," the UN health agency said.
It said there was "no safe and functional place" in Gaza for people to move to.
- 'Enough of the killing' -
Gaza's bloodiest-ever war began following Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel has conducted a retaliatory offensive that has killed more than 34,700 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory's health ministry.
"More attacks on what is now the primary humanitarian hub in the Gaza strip are not the answer," said Turk, adding: "Enough of the killing."
He, too, said there was no location outside of Rafah able to cope with the mass displacement of more than a million people.
"The experience of the past seven months shows Palestinians who remain in Rafah will continue to be at risk of death and injury, whether by indiscriminate bombing, unlawful killing, or loss of access to food, water and healthcare. This must not be allowed to happen," said Turk.
His statement warned that failure to meet the obligations of international humanitarian law on the displacement of civilians "may amount to forced displacement, which is a war crime".