Israel’s order for 1.1 million Palestinians to leave northern Gaza within 24 hours has been denounced by the United Nations, human rights groups, and medical organizations as a crime against humanity and a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.
The Israeli military issued the evacuation order on Friday night, warning the residents of Gaza City and the surrounding areas to relocate to southern Gaza “for your own safety and the safety of your families” ahead of a possible ground invasion.
The order sparked fear and panic among the Palestinians, who have been living under a brutal siege and bombardment by Israel for more than a week. Many of them have nowhere to go, as the southern Gaza Strip is also under attack and has limited facilities and resources.
According to the latest figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least 1,900 Palestinians have been killed and 7,696 wounded since Israel launched its offensive on October 7, following Palestinian attacks that killed 1,300 Israelis. Among the Palestinian casualties, 2,000 are children and 1,400 are women.
The United Nations said that more than 423,000 Palestinians have been displaced by the violence, most of them sheltering in overcrowded and unsafe UN schools. The UN also said that more than two-thirds of Gaza’s population are in need of humanitarian assistance, as Israel’s siege has cut off access to water, electricity, fuel, food, medicine, and communications.
“Forcible population transfers constitute a crime against humanity, and collective punishment is prohibited under international humanitarian law,” said Paula Gaviria Betancur, Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons.
“We are horrified at the prospect of an additional 1 million Palestinians joining the over 423,000 people already forcibly driven from their homes by the violence over the past week,” she said.
“It is inconceivable that more than half of Gaza’s population could traverse an active war zone, without devastating humanitarian consequences, particularly while deprived of essential supplies and basic services,” she added.
WHO Intervenes
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that trying to evacuate people out of an area that is under bombardment and under siege is not only “extremely dangerous” but might just be “simply impossible”.
“Because there is no conceivable way for hospitals to evacuate the most serious cases, the WHO has called the evacuation order an effective ‘death sentence’ for the sick,” Gaviria Betancur said.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) also condemned Israel’s demand in the strongest possible terms, saying that Gaza is being flattened and thousands of people are dying.
“We are talking about more than a million human beings. ‘Unprecedented’ doesn’t even cover the medical humanitarian impact of this. Gaza is being flattened, thousands of people are dying, this must stop now,” Meinie Nicolai, MSF director general, said in a statement.
Israel’s envoy to the United Nations defended the evacuation order, saying that it was a precautionary measure to protect civilians from Hamas rockets and tunnels. He also accused Hamas of using civilians as human shields and preventing them from leaving.
However, many Palestinians in Gaza have defied Israel’s warning, saying that they would rather die in their homes than flee. Hamas also urged the residents to stay and resist, calling Israel’s order false propaganda.
Some Palestinians also expressed their fear of a repeat of the Nakba, or “catastrophe”, which refers to the ethnic cleansing of some 750,000 Palestinians from their lands and homes in historic Palestine to make way for the creation of Israel in 1948.
“I don’t want to leave my home. This is my land, my history, my identity. I don’t want to become a refugee again like my grandparents,” said Fatima Abu Odeh, a 25-year-old mother of two from Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza.
The UN Security Council is expected to hold an emergency meeting on Saturday to discuss the situation in Gaza and call for an immediate ceasefire. However, previous attempts to broker a truce have failed, as both sides have rejected each other’s conditions.
Gaviria Betancur urged Israel to adhere to international law and respect the rights of the Palestinian people.
“I would like to remind Israel that observance of international law is compulsory, not optional, during any conflict,” she said.
“To that end, I call for the strict respect of international humanitarian law and its provisions, including unrestricted humanitarian access to those in need, the cessation of indiscriminate attacks against civilians, and an end to forced displacement of populations and blockade,” she said.
