ISTANBUL

The Arab League on Friday urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to intervene to prevent the evacuation of Gaza residents.

The appeal by the Arab League Secretary-General Ahmad Aboul Gheit to Guterres comes following the Israeli army’s demand to relocate the entire population from Gaza and its northern parts towards the south of Gaza.

Aboul Gheit described the Israeli move as "a war crime that Israel plans to commit as part of its shameful bloody campaign against the Gaza Strip."

The Arab League secretary-general stressed the Israeli evacuation plan "will lead to unlimited suffering for our Palestinian brothers in Gaza."

He also noted that the Israeli demand blatantly violates the Fourth Geneva Convention that prohibits the forced population movement.

Aboul Gheit called on the UN Security Council to condemn this Israeli plan and to stop its implementation.

The Israeli army late on Thursday informed the UN “that the entire population of Gaza north of Wadi Gaza should relocate to southern Gaza within the next 24 hours,” UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement late Thursday.

In a dramatic escalation of Middle East tensions, Israeli forces launched a sustained and forceful military campaign against the Gaza Strip, a response to a military offensive by the Palestinian group Hamas in Israeli territories.

The conflict began last Saturday when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel, a multi-pronged surprise attack including a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel via land, sea, and air.

Hamas said the operation was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and Israeli settlers’ growing violence against Palestinians.

The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets within the Gaza Strip.

Israel's response has extended into cutting water and electricity supplies to Gaza, further worsening the living conditions in an area that has reeled under a crippling siege since 2007.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar