The head of the Red Cross warned on Saturday that it would be impossible to keep people safe during a mass evacuation of Gaza City, as Israel prepared to invade the city.
"It is impossible that a mass evacuation of Gaza City could ever be done in a way that is safe and dignified under the current conditions," Red Cross President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement.
Israel is pushing ahead with its plan to invade Gaza City, with the goal of fully reoccupying the Gaza Strip and destroying Hamas after nearly 23 months of war, as global outcry intensified over claimed starvation in Gaza.
An evacuation would provoke a population displacement that no other area in the Gaza Strip is equipped to absorb, amid severe shortages of food, shelter, and medical supplies, Spoljaric said.
The IDF said on Friday that it "will continue to support humanitarian efforts alongside ongoing maneuvering and offensive operations against terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip in order to protect the state of Israel."
Israel has urged civilians to leave for the south of Gaza.
Red Cross head: Starving, sick Gazans unable to leave Gaza City
Many people in Gaza City would not be able to follow evacuation orders because they are starving, sick or injured, Spoljaric said.
International humanitarian law requires Israel to ensure that civilians have access to shelter, safety and nutrition, when evacuation orders are issued.
"These conditions cannot currently be met in Gaza. This makes any evacuation not only unfeasible but incomprehensible under the present circumstances," Spoljaric added.