Israel’s military has informed the United Nations that the entire population of northern Gaza should relocate to the southern half of the territory within 24 hours, the U.N. spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said late on Thursday night, adding that such a movement — involving over one million people — would lead to “devastating humanitarian consequences.”
“The same order applied to all U.N. staff and those sheltered in U.N. facilities — including schools, health centers and clinics,” Mr. Dujarric said.
The U.N. was told that the marker dividing the north from south was Wadi Gaza, the statement said.
The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting on Friday afternoon in a closed consultation format
I'll try to stick to facts and not mix my opinions in:
The area north of Wadi Gaza contains most of Gaza City, and several outlying neighborhoods.
Best I can tell, the furthest point in the strip is 15km away from that line. Meaning this is requesting civilians to relocate by 5-20km within 24 hours.
Hamas has built an extensive tunnel network underneath Gaza. These tunnels are constructed with reinforced concrete and are used to house both munitions and operational infrastructure.
The US has transferred advanced munitions to Israel.
Now for my personal speculation:
The advanced munitions are bunker busters.
There is a significant risk of buildings collapsing due to the tunnels underneath being destroyed.
The intent is to minimize civilian casualties both from the immediate airstrikes and from potential building collapse.