The United Nations human rights office has said Israel’s brutal blockade of the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, combined with the evacuation order and forcible transfer of civilians, could amount to a crime against humanity.
Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said in the Swiss city of Geneva on Tuesday that the forced relocation of civilians has been classed as a crime against humanity and is punishable by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“We are concerned that this order, combined with the imposition of a complete siege of Gaza, may not be considered as lawful temporary evacuation and would therefore amount to a forcible transfer of civilians in breach of international law,” she said.
“Those who managed to comply with the Israeli authorities’ order to evacuate are now trapped in the south of the Gaza Strip, with scant shelter, fast-depleting food supplies, little or no access to clean water, sanitation, medicine and other basic needs,” Shamdasani said.
“We have grave fears about the toll on civilians in the coming days. Military operations show no signs of abating.”
On October 12, Israel ordered 1.1 million people in the north of Gaza to evacuate and move south of the enclave as the regime forces prepare for a ground invasion of the besieged Gaza Strip.
Israel’s bombardment has already pushed Palestinians in the besieged enclave into smaller areas and spaces.
“International law requires that any lawful temporary evacuation by Israel, as the occupying power, of an area on the basis of the security of the population or imperative military reasons must be accompanied by the provision of proper accommodation for all evacuees,” Shamdasani said
The total death toll from Israel’s aggression against the Gaza Strip has risen to some 3,500, with over 1,000 children among the victims. About 12,500 have been injured since Israeli air raids began.
Rising death toll, and flattened buildings with no food, water and electricity supplies; are what Israel’s non-stop strikes, shelling and complete blockade have brought to the Gaza Strip.
The regime’s fresh air raids killed 80 Palestinians in Rafah and Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.
Israeli attacks also took the life of a Palestinian journalist in the north, bringing to 16 the number of journalists killed by the regime’s bombardments since October 7.
Israel launched its assaults against the besieged Palestinian territory following the Palestinians’ Operation al-Aqsa flood.
The humanitarian situation is getting worse by the hour in the besieged Gaza, with hospitals facing a collapse.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning of an imminent catastrophe in the territory. The WHO also said it needs urgent access to Gaza to deliver aid and medical supplies.
According to the UN Palestinian agency, UNRWA, fuel reserves at all hospitals across Gaza are expected to last for only 24 hours.“The shutdown of backup generators would place the lives of thousands of patients at serious risk,” it said.
Separately, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that its food supplies in the besieged enclave were running low, but it was stockpiling supplies in the Egyptian city of El Arish.
“We call for unimpeded access, safe passage to desperately needed humanitarian supplies to Gaza,” WFP’s regional communication lead for the Middle East and North Africa, Abeera Etefa said.
Aid trucks have been heading to the Rafah crossing on the Egypt border, but it remains uncertain whether the supplies can cross into southern Gaza.
Also on Tuesday, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh, during a press conference in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah accused Israel of committing ‘genocide’ during the ongoing aggression against Gaza.
“This is a war crime, genocide, and unprecedented destruction,” Shtayyeh said.
