00:00 France 24's own Shirley Sitbon is here for more on the situation in Gaza.
00:04 Shirley, we're hearing that an evacuation like this is unprecedented.
00:09 And just to put it in perspective for people, it's like trying to take half the population
00:13 of Paris and move them out in 24 hours.
00:16 It just doesn't seem feasible.
00:18 Under bombs and without electricity, without food, without aid, with many people wounded
00:24 in the hospital, because in recent days many people have been wounded.
00:28 So it's even worse than that.
00:30 So that's what people are saying.
00:32 This is really unprecedented.
00:33 What is the goal?
00:35 They're asking the people from the northern part of the Strip to delocate.
00:41 But the UN says that, as you said, is extremely complicated.
00:47 The Israelis say the goal is to destroy Hamas infrastructure, to destroy the tunnels.
00:53 Hamas says it has 500 kilometers of tunnels.
00:56 They're used for smuggling various things, but also weapons and also people, fighters
01:01 can hide in them and launch attacks into Israel.
01:04 So what the Israelis are saying is that they're asking for an evacuation so they can attack
01:08 massively.
01:10 And this is for the population's safety, they say.
01:13 And the White House has also said that, well, there should be no Palestinian casualty, the
01:19 civilian casualty.
01:21 So that's why the evacuation is asked for.
01:23 But the UN says this is mission impossible, this is inhumane, this is adding a huge tragedy
01:30 to a tragedy, making everything worse.
01:33 And so the situation there is going to be extremely complicated.
01:37 The UN says we cannot evacuate weak people, the elderly, so fast.
01:43 The roads are broken.
01:45 It's just impossible.
01:46 The conditions are too complicated.
01:49 But perhaps, yeah, the Israelis say that's the only way to go.
01:53 Now maybe the Americans who are with Israel, are supporting Israel in this plan, maybe
01:58 without saying it openly, are trying to find a way to limit losses.
02:05 But it's not something that's obvious right away.
02:08 It's all done in closed rooms, those discussions.
02:12 Now for those people who are willing and able to leave, what do we know about the conditions
02:18 that are awaiting them in the south?
02:20 Where are they going?
02:22 Where are they going?
02:23 It's still blocked in the south.
02:25 So you know, countries like Egypt, they were willing to bring in aid to help because they're
02:31 with the border with the Gaza Strip.
02:34 They said we're willing to help bring in aid, but we don't want Palestinian civilians to
02:41 come flowing into Sinai.
02:44 So that complicates things.
02:46 But of course many countries are pleading for that, saying not only, of course, fuel
02:51 and electricity should be restored and water and food and aid, but also there needs to
02:56 be a humanitarian corridor, not just to bring in aid, but also to help people leave if they
03:01 want to, because the situation is so dramatic.
03:03 People are traumatized.
03:05 Imagine the situation.
03:06 Anyone can imagine these conditions.
03:08 People have already faced so many wars, so many bombings.
03:11 It's extremely complicated.
03:12 And asking for this, something that's totally unprecedented, and knowing that they only
03:16 have a few hours to do this and that their lives are at stake, it's just difficult.
03:22 It's a great ordeal for them.
03:23 So can you tell us a little bit more about what the global reaction to this evacuation
03:28 order has been?
03:29 Yes.
03:30 We've seen across the world, for example, some countries saying that Israel must defend
03:34 itself.
03:35 The goal is not to attack the Palestinians, but to attack Hamas.
03:37 The attack Hamas has led against Israel on Saturday was so huge that Israel must react.
03:42 We've seen this in European countries, in Germany, France, and especially in the U.S.,
03:47 which is not only supporting with words, but officials, leading officials are in the region
03:54 to support Israel and maybe to try and limit the spread, the spreading of this conflict
03:59 to other regions and to limit the scope of the operation and to limit the loss of lives.
04:05 But we've also had many countries criticizing this.
04:10 The Arab League met and said that not even the operation itself, but displacing so many
04:15 people itself is a crime.
04:17 That's what it said today.
04:19 Countries like Jordan and others are saying that these plans should be reconsidered and
04:25 canceled altogether, hoping for humanitarian corridor as well, and hoping that this could
04:31 be revised because, well, it's extremely complex.
04:36 Antony Blinken has been meeting with various officials in the region, trying also to mediate
04:43 also an exchange of hostages and prisoners and perhaps-
04:47 A lot going on behind the scenes, I'm sure, that we are not privy to.
04:50 Absolutely.
04:51 Yeah, and of course, among the reactions, there's not just the countries, the governments,
04:54 but also the people.
04:56 Today is Friday, Friday prayers across the Muslim world and across the world anyway, and
05:01 many people feeling a terrible pain and protesting against what they see could be a greater tragedy
05:07 coming up.
05:08 Brent Swingford, journalist.
05:10 Shirley Sipon, thank you so much.
