Int'l reactions after 'Israel' ordered forced displacement in Gaza
5 Min Read
Several countries express their discontent and criticism to comment on the "unacceptable" recent actions of "Israel".
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Palestinians leaving their homes after Israeli airstrikes in Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, on October 12, 2023 (AP)
Zoran Milanovic, the president of Croatia, expressed his disapproval of "Israel's" activities in Gaza as retaliation for Hamas's last week's attack and condemned the Israeli flag displays in his nation.
In remarks to the media on Thursday, Milanovic criticized "Israel" for its retaliatory strikes in Gaza, which, according to the Gaza health ministry, have so far claimed more than 1,500 lives. He also referred to the Croatian foreign ministry's decision to fly the Israeli flag outside its building as "an idiotic move."
"With all my sympathy for Israel, which unfortunately they lost within 15 minutes … there is no place for other flags in Croatia, except in strictly regulated situations," Milanovic said. "I condemned [Hamas'] murders, I even expressed disgust and abhorrence, but the right to defense does not include the right to revenge and the killing of civilians," he added.
In addition, Milanovi stated that he would hang the Croatian flag lower in his presidential office and lower the EU and NATO flags because they are "not the same" and shouldn't be shown at the same height.
President of Ireland: "Israel's" response in Gaza violates international law
The Israeli military's continuous bombardment of the Gaza Strip has drawn criticism from Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who described the strikes as a sort of "collective punishment."
In a Thursday interview with Irish state broadcaster RTÉ, Varadkar said "Israel is under threat. They do have a right to defend themselves, but they don't have the right to breach international humanitarian law."
The ongoing airstrikes on Gaza were deeply worrying, and he said "cutting off power, cutting off fuel supplies and water supplies — that's not the way a respectable democratic state should conduct itself."
"I believe by targeting civilians and by cutting off civilian infrastructure, that is a breach of international humanitarian law," Varadkar said.
Such comments came after the Israeli occupation entity said in a statement that 1.1 million people living in northern Gaza must evacuate within the next 24 hours, hinting at plans to start a much-feared ground invasion of the devastated Strip that has been under nonstop bombing since last Saturday.
More reactions about forcing Gazans to leave from north to south
The Israeli bombing of besieged Gaza continued throughout Thursday night for the sixth consecutive day since the launching of the Palestinian Resistance Operation Al-Aqsa Flood in response to the ongoing unbearable Israeli crimes against Palestinians.
The recent "Israel's" deadline for the evacuation of people from north Gaza was denounced as "unacceptable" by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday.
"To force the population of Gaza to migrate in 24 hours is unacceptable," said Erdogan, who has already denounced "Israel's" response to the Hamas attack this weekend.
The Foreign Ministry of Turkey had the same response, calling such forced displacement as "unacceptable" too.
In a statement released on Friday, the ministry claimed that forcing 2.5 million people to leave Gaza in a relatively small region while they were being bombarded, deprived of electricity, food, and water, was "inhumane" and clearly violates international law.
"We expect Israel to fix this grave mistake and end merciless, mass actions towards civilians," the statement said.
The head of the Scottish National Party (SNP), Humza Yousaf, who was officially voted in as First Minister of Scotland after a Scottish Parliament vote, in March, posted the below posts.
UN has said the order to move 1.1m people in 24 hours will lead to "devastating humanitarian consequences"
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) October 13, 2023
The international community must step up and demand an end to collective punishment. Enough. There can be no justification for the death of innocent men, women & children. https://t.co/b2IlGARfXT
According to Yousaf, "there can be no justification for the death of innocent men, women & children," and he urged the international community to "step up and demand an end to collective punishment."
This is Elizabeth El-Nakla. She is my mother-in-law. A retired nurse from Dundee, Scotland. She, like the vast majority of people in Gaza, has nothing to do with Hamas. She has been told to leave Gaza but, like the rest of the population, is trapped with nowhere to go. pic.twitter.com/D3ZUtnEmyO
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) October 13, 2023
His wife's mother is "trapped with nowhere to go." Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla traveled to Palestine days before Hamas' attack to take care of Maged's sick 92-year-old mother.
It is worth noting that Palestinian media said the Israeli occupation army committed at least two new massacres in Gaza last night, including two families as per the latest reports, with an initial estimated count of over 40 martyrs so far.
The number of forcefully displaced people in Gaza had risen by an additional 84,444 people and reached 423,378, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said in a statement sent on Friday.
Palestinian Health Ministry Spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra told Al Mayadeen on Thursday that Gaza is only a few hours away from essential services completely shutting down, and the health sector is collapsing.
