Israeli authorities have caused massive, deliberate forced displacement of Palestinian civilians in Gaza since October 2023 and are responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch.
Israeli authorities have facilitated a deliberate campaign of forced displacement in Gaza that amounts to crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, according the a new report by Human Rights Watch.
The 154-page report details the destruction caused by Israel’s year-long military campaign in Gaza, which has displaced over 90% of the population. Researchers collected evidence based on interviews with displaced Palestinians, and analysed satellite imagery, Israeli evacuation orders and statements by senior Israeli officials, including Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Senior officials in the Israeli government and the War Cabinet have repeatedly declared their intent to forcibly displace the population from the early days of the war to over a year later, with government ministers saying that the territory of Gaza will decrease,” said Nadia Hardman, author of the report.
The report largely takes aim at the evacuation orders issued by Israeli forces, which they claimed was to ensure the safety of Palestinian civilians. Human Rights Watch, however, said that the IDF failed to ensure safe passage and refuge for Palestinians through these orders.
“The Israeli government cannot claim to be keeping Palestinians safe when it kills them along escape routes, bombs so-called safe zones, and cuts off food, water, and sanitation,” Hardman said.
“The forced displacement is widespread, systematic and intentional, and forms part of a state policy and amounts to a crime against humanity,” she continued. “In the areas where the military has raised, extended and cleared land for buffer zones and security corridors, Human Rights Watch finds these actions of the Israeli authorities amount to ethnic cleansing.”
Human Rights Watch made several recommendations to the international community in their report, including targeted sanctions, suspensions of weapons transfer and an ICC investigation.
The report was published amid an ongoing Israeli military campaign in northern Gaza that has likely created a new wave of displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians.
Last week, IDF officer Itzik Cohen made a statement to Israeli reporters that “there is no intention of allowing the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to return to their homes.” He added that humanitarian aid would only be allowed to enter through the South of Gaza, claiming “there are no residents left” in the North.
This appears to be in contrast to a recent US assessment that says Israel has not breached American laws on blocking aid supplies, after a 30-day deadline it gave Israel to boost humanitarian aid access in Gaza or risk having some military assistance cut off lapsed.
The US State Department announced it will not suspend military assistance to Israel, despite the findings of humanitarian groups.
Aid agencies have described the situation in northern Gaza as dire, with areas at imminent risk of famine amid Israel’s ongoing military offensive there.
