UN warns Israel against 'forcible transfer' of Gazans

A Palestinian woman reacts as others rush to look for victims in the rubble of a building following an Israeli strike in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on October 17, 2023. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP)

By AFP
Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Israel has demanded that residents of north Gaza leave for the south, hoping to clear the area of civilians in preparation for a perilous urban ground assault.

The United Nations warned Israel on Tuesday against the "forcible transfer of civilians" in the Gaza Strip, which could be in breach of international law.

The UN human rights office said that a legal temporary evacuation of civilians came with obligations on Israel, which, the Geneva-based agency said, it appears to have made no attempt to fulfil.

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Israel has demanded that residents of north Gaza leave for the south, hoping to clear the area of civilians in preparation for a perilous urban ground assault.

"We have grave fears about the toll on civilians in the coming days. Military operations show no signs of abating," UN rights office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani told a media briefing.

"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, undertaken under satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition.

A Palestinian man reacts as he finds a family member following an Israeli airstrike on buildings in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on October 17, 2023. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED /AFP)

"There appears to have been no attempt by Israel to ensure this for the 1.1 million civilians ordered to move.

"We are concerned that this order combined with the imposition of a 'complete siege' on Gaza may not be considered as lawful temporary evacuation and would therefore amount to a forcible transfer of civilians --in breach of international law."

Gaza-based Hamas fighters broke through Israel's heavily fortified border on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people, most of them civilians. Israel says at least 199 hostages were taken by Hamas or other groups during the raid.

Israel has responded with withering air strikes on Hamas-controlled Gaza and by deploying tens of thousands of troops to the border in preparation for a full-scale ground offensive.