Israel's order to move 1.1 million residents from the northern Gaza Strip to the south could lead to the forced relocation of civilians, according to the United Nations.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said Israel's total siege of the Gaza Strip, coupled with the evacuation order, could amount to a forced relocation of civilians, in violation of international law.
spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said in Geneva on Tuesday that Israel had not yet made any efforts to provide the displaced people with adequate housing and satisfactory conditions.
“We fear that this order, coupled with the imposition of a total siege on the Gaza Strip, cannot be considered a lawful temporary evacuation and therefore amounts to a forced relocation of civilians in violation of international law,” he said.
The forced displacement of civilians is considered a crime against humanity and is punished by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“People who managed to comply with Israeli authorities' evacuation orders are now stranded in the southern Gaza Strip, with limited shelter, rapidly depleting food supplies, limited or no access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene services, medicine and other basic things.” needs. » said Shamdasani.
On October 12, Israel ordered 1.1 million people in the northern Gaza Strip to evacuate and move to the south of the enclave.
Shamdasani's comments come as Israel prepares for a ground offensive in Gaza in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas, the armed group that rules Gaza.
So far, at least 2,800 Palestinians have been killed and around 11,000 injured since Israeli air strikes began. The Israeli army says around 1,400 people have been killed in Israel since October 7th.
The World Food Program (WFP) said in separate comments that its food reserves were low in the besieged enclave but that it was stockpiling supplies in the Egyptian town of El Arish. Abeera Etefa, WFP regional communications manager for the Middle East and North Africa, said the U.N. agency hoped aid trucks would "cross the border as soon as access to the border is granted."
“We demand unhindered access and safe passage to urgently needed humanitarian supplies in Gaza,” she said.
trucks carrying food and humanitarian aid are on their way to the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, but it is unclear whether the shipments will reach the southern Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, the World Health Organization also said it urgently needed access to the Gaza Strip to deliver relief and medical supplies, warning of a long-term humanitarian crisis.
According to the Palestinian UN agency UNRWA, fuel supplies to all hospitals in Gaza are expected to last only 24 hours.
“Switching off the emergency generators would seriously endanger the lives of thousands of patients,” he said.
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