Germany: Expect Israel to allow safe haven for Gaza civilians

Israel must not only instruct Gazans to move to safety but also make this possible, a spokesperson for the German Foreign Ministry said today, days after Israel ordered Palestinians to leave Khan Yunis which it had previously labelled a ‘safe zone’.

It is important that Israel avoids civilian casualties and adheres to humanitarian law, the spokesperson told reporters in Berlin, adding that the German government was conveying this message in its talks with Israeli partners.

Israel published a map that shows the Gaza Strip divided into thousands of small blocks, claiming that it would instruct residents to flee to ‘a safe block’ if it is going to bomb another.

Late last week Israel issued a map which split the besieged Gaza Strip into thousands of subsections and has since used it to instruct Palestinians to leave their homes and shelters zone by zone and move further south towards Rafah.

However it has also bombed Rafah and roads leading to it. Palestinians have for many weeks said that in Israel’s genocidal bombing campaign, no where is safe in Gaza.

At least 15,899 Palestinians, 70 per cent of them women and children, have been killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza since 7 October, the Ministry of Health in the enclave said today.

Read: Qatar to provide care for 4,500 Palestinians from Gaza