Israel's order for 1.1 million Palestinians to flee northern Gaza ahead of its ground assault in the enclave is "clearly incompatible" with international law and "impossible" while the territory is under siege, according to the Red Cross.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians fled northern Gaza on Friday - on top of around 400,000 that have already been displaced this week - after Israel gave the area's entire population until Saturday to move south.

But with just 24 hours to relocate, leaders of Arab nations and international groups condemned theevacuation order, stating that Gazans had nowhere to go, with exits from the territory, to Egypt and Israel, shut. The UN also stated that it would be impossible to safely move so many people inside the besieged enclave without causing a humanitarian disaster.

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"The instructions that the Israelis have given to the Gazan population without providing or maintaining guaranteeing their access to their most basic needs is clearly not compatible with international humanitarian law," Imene Trabelsi, the official representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in the Middle East, told CGTN Europe. 

It was "impossible", she added, to imagine the evacuation of over a million people could be conducted safely amid the ongoing siege of Gaza, especially with limited access to basic needs.

"Even in the best circumstances, not everyone would be able to leave," said the ICRC representative. "We are talking about elderly people, the injured people, people living with disabilities that would not be able to move or relocate... There is a legal obligation for those people to be able to access their basic needs."

Following Hamas' lightning strike last week, Israel put the Hamas-run Gaza Strip under total siege, cutting off its access to electricity while bombarding the enclave with unprecedented air strikes. Gaza authorities say that at least 2,215 people have been killed.

Now, under Friday's evacuation orders, hundreds of thousands of people need to leave its most populated area, which includes Gaza City, three UN compounds, two refugee camps, and 11 hospitals. While there are medical facilities in the south, most of the surviving infrastructure is concentrated in the north.

According to Trabelsi, the Red Cross currently has 100 people in Gaza, most of whom are from the enclave. "They live in the same conditions and the same horrific situation that the population is undergoing right now," she said. 

"The humanitarian situation is nearly catastrophic. People lack everything - access to food, access to water, electricity is non-existent. The health sector is undergoing tremendous pressure and is on the verge of full collapse." Gaza's key healthcare facilities, she said, were already experiencing the highest number of mass casualties they had ever seen.   

While Israel says the evacuation order is temporary and a "humanitarian gesture" to protect residents from harm while it attacks Gaza City, Hamas says it is a trick to force residents to give up their homes. Palestinian authorities reported that 70 people had already been killed and 200 wounded when Israel struck cars and trucks carrying people fleeing the north of the strip for the south on Friday.

"We call on all parties to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law," said Trabelsi. That means "civilian safety, rights and infrastructure must be respected at all times."

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