Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report released on Wednesday, November 13, that Israel’s repeated evacuation orders in occupied Gaza Strip amount to the war crime of forcible transfer, and to “ethnic cleansing” in the Palestinian territory. The 154-page report, “‘Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged’: Israel’s Forced Displacement of Palestinians in Gaza,” examines how Israeli authorities’ conduct has led to the displacement of over 90 percent of the population of Gaza—1.9 million Palestinians—and the widespread destruction of much of Gaza over the last 13 months.
Israeli forces have carried out deliberate, controlled demolitions of homes and civilian infrastructure, including in areas where they have apparent aims of creating “buffer zones and security corridors,” from which Palestinians are likely to be permanently displaced. Contrary to claims by Israeli officials, their actions do not comply with the laws of war. “We amassed evidence that Israeli officials are committing the war crime of forcible transfer,” the report says. Israel’s actions appear to also meet the definition of ethnic cleansing” in the areas where Palestinians will not be able to return,” HRW adds.
Palestinians inspect the extensive damage after an Israeli airstrike on the Al-Mawasi area west of Khan Younis city in the southern Gaza Strip, November 13, 2024 (Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
The report’s findings are based on interviews with displaced Gazans, satellite imagery, and public reporting conducted until August 2024. Although Israel says the displacement is justified for civilians’ safety or by military imperatives, the report claims that “Israel cannot simply rely on the presence of armed groups to justify the displacement of civilians. Israel would have to demonstrate in every instance that displacement of civilians was the only option,” to fully comply with international humanitarian law.
The HRW report pointed to the Philadelphi and Netzarim corridors, running along the Egyptian border and cutting Gaza along its east-west axis respectively, which have been “razed, extended, and cleared,” by Israel’s army to create buffer zones and security corridors. The report says Israeli forces have turned the central Netzarim corridor, between Gaza City and Wadi Gaza, into a buffer zone four kilometers (2.5 miles) wide mostly cleared of buildings.
The full report:
