The Human Rights Watch (HRW), a non-governmental organisation, has published a report today claiming that the Israeli military’s orders for civilians in Gaza to evacuate urgently from specific areas amount to forced displacement of the population, which it classifies as a “war crime.”
“Human Rights Watch has gathered evidence indicating that Israeli officials (…) are committing the war crime of forcibly displacing civilians,” the report states.
According to HRW, Israel’s actions may also meet the criteria for “ethnic cleansing” in areas where Palestinians have been instructed to leave and are subsequently unable to return.
Israeli authorities maintain that they issue these evacuation orders for residents in certain parts of the Gaza Strip due to the urgent needs of their military operations and that doing so is aimed at civilian safety.
“Israel is obligated to demonstrate in every case that moving civilians is the only viable option” to comply with international humanitarian law, said Nadia Hardman, a researcher for HRW. “Israel cannot simply cite the presence of armed groups to justify civilian displacement,” she continued.
Ahmed Benchemsi, an HRW spokesperson for the Middle East, added that systematically rendering large portions of Gaza uninhabitable amounts to “ethnic cleansing.”
In October, the UN estimated that 1.9 million people in Gaza have been displaced due to the conflict, while the total population of the enclave was about 2.4 million at the start of hostilities.
According to HRW, Israeli authorities are orchestrating these displacements to permanently “clear” certain zones of their inhabitants.
The 150-page HRW report focuses on two zones referred to by Israel as the Netzarim and Philadelphi corridors. Extensive demolitions and “clearances” have taken place in these areas to establish buffer zones for security reasons, HRW explained.
The Netzarim corridor runs across Gaza from east to west, extending between Gaza City and Wadi Gaza, and is now approximately 4 kilometres wide, with nearly all buildings in the area levelled, Ms Hardman noted.
The Philadelphi corridor runs along Gaza’s border with Egypt, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirming that the Israeli military will retain control of this area under any circumstances.
In Gaza, this is seen as “the forced expulsion of a national or religious group – Palestinians – from parts of their homeland by violent means,” HRW said, echoing the UN’s definition of ethnic cleansing.
The report draws on interviews with Gaza residents, analysis of satellite imagery, and public data collected through August 2024. It does not include the Israeli incursion into northern Gaza from 6 October, which forced at least 100,000 people to flee to Gaza City and its surroundings, according to Louise Waterytz, spokesperson for the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA).
Imam Hamad, 41, a father from Beit Hanoun, said he has been forcibly displaced more than ten times. “Before, I thought they just wanted us gone; now I realise they want to kill us and erase us,” he told the French Press Agency yesterday.
