“The European Union is deeply concerned about the Israeli army[’s] orders to evacuate civilians from the area of Khan Younis. Some 250,000 people are impacted by the evacuation orders. These orders also threaten the patients of the European Hospital, one of the few remaining partially functioning hospitals in southern Gaza”, announced High Representative Josep Borrell, who is also a vice-president [of the European Commission], and European Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič in a joint statement on Friday, 5 July.
The Israeli army carried out air strikes in the region on Thursday night, claiming to be targeting sites serving as weapons depots, a flat used by terrorists, and other infrastructures.
The two men add that this decision to evacuate “is certain to worsen overcrowding, and cause severe shortages in the already overwhelmed remaining hospitals, at a time when access to emergency medical care is critical”.
They believe, “Forced evacuations are creating a humanitarian crisis within the crisis. They exacerbate an already catastrophic humanitarian situation, with nearly 1.9 million Gazans displaced within the Strip”. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)