“You must evacuate your homes immediately and move to the south of Wadi Gaza.” The evacuation order, sent by the Israeli army to over a million people in northern Gaza on October 13, 2023, was received by residents of the enclave dozens of times over the past year as they were shuttled from one part of the territory to another in hopes of escaping Israeli military bombings. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the strategy of forced displacements executed by Israeli authorities constituted war crimes, crimes against humanity, and even ethnic cleansing.
These are the findings of the report “Hopeless, Starving and Besieged,” which was published by the NGO November 14. From November 2023 to June 2024, HRW conducted interviews with 39 residents of the Gaza Strip who had been displaced multiple times since the beginning of Israeli military operations following the deadly Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023.
To reach these conclusions, HRW examined the Israeli evacuation system, analyzing 184 orders issued by the military via various channels. It also assessed satellite images and reviewed “dozens of photos and videos of attacks on designated safe zones and evacuation routes.”
“A deliberate state policy”
“Israeli authorities have committed multiple war crimes of forced displacement in Gaza since October 2023. Our evidence shows these actions are widespread, part of a deliberate state policy, and thus constitute a crime against humanity and meet the definition of ethnic cleansing,” explained Nadia Hardman, the report’s author.
In its investigation, HRW referred to Article 49 of the Geneva Convention, which outlines the conditions under which an occupying power may relocate populations during wartime. “Israel can only do so if there is an imperative military reason or for the safety of the populations. If these conditions are not met, such actions constitute the war crime of forced displacement,” noted Hardman.
However, the human rights organization contended that the arguments put forth by Israel do not meet the criterion of an imperative military reason. “Israel claims that because Palestinian armed groups fight among civilians, its army evacuates these civilians to target the combatants and destroy their infrastructure. The Israeli army states that these evacuations minimize harm and that mass population displacements are legal. However, we believe these claims are largely flawed,” the expert added.
Israel cannot invoke civilian safety to justify the evacuations, given the danger involved. “Evacuation routes and so-called safe zones are bombed constantly and repeatedly,” said the author. “The Israeli evacuation system endangers people, providing vague, misleading, and sometimes contradictory instructions, making it extremely difficult for civilians to know where and when to move.”
A humanitarian zone with changing boundaries
HRW highlighted the testimony of Sahar, a 42-year-old mother who, despite receiving calls from the Israeli army and leaflets dropped by planes urging evacuation, was unable to leave her home in Beit Lahiya, northern Gaza, in time. “We wanted to follow them but could not because the Israelis started bombing the area heavily even before the announcement. People were killed in huge numbers and in brutal ways,” she recounted.
To comply with Article 49 of the Geneva Convention, Israel should also provide displaced individuals with a secure area that ensures their rights, health, and safety, HRW reiterated. The NGO cited the example of Al-Mawasi, a coastal city in southern Gaza designated as a “humanitarian zone” by Israel in October 2023. The 20-square-kilometer area lacked running water and was heavily bombed by the Israeli army. “Between October and August, the Israeli army redefined the boundaries of this zone 14 times, adding to the confusion and undermining residents’ safety,” noted Gabi Ivens, HRW’s head of data analysis.
More broadly, HRW, along with other international bodies, asserted that the extensive destruction in the Palestinian enclave threatened the right of return for the 1.9 million displaced Gazans, most of whom are refugees or descendants of Palestinians forced to leave their lands in 1948 during the establishment of the State of Israel. “Governments should publicly condemn Israel’s forced displacement of Gaza’s civilian population as a war crime and a crime against humanity,” urged Milena Ansari, a researcher and lawyer at HRW. “This condemnation should also address the prevention of the Palestinian right of return. Gazan Palestinians have two rights of return,” she emphasized. HRW called for all findings in this report on forced displacements to be included in the current investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into Israeli officials.
