“The so-called safe zones... are not scientific, they are not rational, they are not possible, and I think the authorities are aware of this,” James Elder, spokesman for the UN children's agency UNICEF, told reporters on Tuesday.
The Israeli military had initially focused its airstrikes on the north of the Gaza Strip, but it has begun hitting the southern regions more ferociously since a temporary pause in fighting broke down. The regime has dropped leaflets, warning Palestinians to flee to other areas.
UN agencies have warned that no place is currently safe in the narrow strip.
Elder said that the so-called safe zones “cannot be safe nor humanitarian when unilaterally declared” by the Israeli regime. He explained that in a real safe zone “you can guarantee the conditions of food, water, medicine and shelter.”
The pretence that there is a safe zone for Palestinians in Gaza is “callous,” he insisted.
Around 16,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed across Gaza since October 7 when the war began, and more than 80 percent of the territory’s population has been displaced.
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