NEW YORK, October 13. /TASS/. The World Health Organization (WHO) slammed as a death sentence Israel’s order calling for more than 1 million Palestinians in northern Gaza to evacuate south, WHO press officer Tarik Jasarevic told NBC News in an interview.

"Moving severely ill people, <…> many [of whom] are children, <…> is a death sentence," Jasarevic said. "Asking health workers to do this or leave those who need their care behind is beyond cruel," he added.

Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN chief, said earlier that the United Nations strongly appealed for any such order to be rescinded as the global body believes it impossible for such a movement to "take place without devastating humanitarian consequences."

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 when militants from the radical Palestinian movement Hamas staged a surprise attack on Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. Hamas described its attack as a response to the aggressive actions of Israeli authorities against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Israel has announced a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and carried out air strikes on targets there and inside Lebanon and Syria, as well. Hostilities have also broken out on the West Bank.

More than 1,500 Palestinians have been killed in clashes and strikes, while over 7,200 have suffered wounds, since the renewed outbreak of violence began. In Israel, roughly 1,500 people lost their lives and almost 4,000 have been wounded.