Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes over Gaza displacements

Human Rights Watch said the displacement of Palestinians "is likely planned to be permanent in the buffer zones and security corridors," an action it said would amount to "ethnic cleansing."

 DISPLACED PALESTINIANS who fled Rafah, after the IDF began evacuating civilians, travel on a vehicle in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip in May. While relocations are unfortunate, they have been distorted by Hamas, which frames Israel’s actions as brutal, the writer argues. (photo credit: Ramadan Abed/Reuters)
DISPLACED PALESTINIANS who fled Rafah, after the IDF began evacuating civilians, travel on a vehicle in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip in May. While relocations are unfortunate, they have been distorted by Hamas, which frames Israel’s actions as brutal, the writer argues.
(photo credit: Ramadan Abed/Reuters)

Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israeli authorities of causing a forced displacement of Palestinian people in Gaza to an extent that constitutes war crimes and crimes against humanity in a report released Thursday.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military or foreign ministry, but Israeli authorities have previously rejected such accusations and say their forces operate in compliance with international law.

HRW interviewed 39 displaced Palestinians and analyzed 184 Israeli evacuation orders as well as satellite imagery, videos, and photographs in order to compile the report, the organization said.

Over 90% of the population of Gaza, 1.9 million Palestinians, have been displaced, and destruction in the strip is widespread, according to the report.

HRW accused Israel of widespread "forced displacement," calling this "systematic and part of a state policy."

 People flee the eastern parts of Rafah after the Israeli military began evacuating Palestinian civilians ahead of a threatened assault on the southern Gazan city, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip May 6, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled)
People flee the eastern parts of Rafah after the Israeli military began evacuating Palestinian civilians ahead of a threatened assault on the southern Gazan city, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip May 6, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/Hatem Khaled)

The law of armed conflict forbids the forcible displacement of civilian populations from occupied territory unless necessary for the security of civilians or imperative military reasons.

Israel invaded the Gaza Strip after Hamas terrorists attacked communities in southern Israel last year, killing around 1,200 people and abducting over 251 hostages. Hamas-run Gaza health authorities say that the Israeli military campaign has killed more than 43,500 people and destroyed much of the enclave's infrastructure.

IDF operating primarily in northern Gaza

For the past month, Israeli troops have moved tens of thousands of people from areas in the north of the enclave as they have sought to destroy Hamas forces the military says have been reforming around the towns of Jabalya, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun.

While HRW accused Israel of intending for the displacement of Palestinians to be permanent " in the buffer zones and security corridors," The IDF has denied seeking to create permanent buffer zones.

Additionally, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said on Monday that Palestinians displaced from their homes in northern Gaza would be allowed to return at the end of the war.