We, the undersigned human rights organizations, draw the attention of United Nations (UN) member states to Israel’s cataclysmic forced displacement of Palestinians in and from Gaza, the West Bank, and South Lebanon. There are 1.9 million internally displaced persons in Gaza, an estimated  100,000 who have fled to Egypt, and more than 3,477 Palestinians who have been forcibly displaced in the West Bank.

The so-called ‘evacuation’ orders issued by Israel are causing catastrophic harm to the civilian population in Gaza, exacerbating the ongoing famine, and effectively besieging nearly 90 percent of the population in an area smaller than 11 percent of the total size of the Gaza Strip. We call for an end to these illegal displacement orders issued by Israel, the safe return of refugees and internally displaced persons at the earliest possible stage, urgent and unimpeded expansion of humanitarian aid, and an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

The evacuation orders issued by Israel in Gaza since October 2023 have had disastrous effects on Palestinians in Gaza, cramming around 1.8 million people into an area of around 40 square kilometers causing severe overcrowding and, coupled with the lack of sanitation facilities, clean water, food, shelter and basic hygiene, have exacerbated the dire conditions, increased the spread of disease, thereby inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their destruction. Importantly, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), in its first provisional measures order, demanded Israel to prevent and ensure with immediate effect that its military does not commit any genocidal acts, following its finding of the plausible right of Palestinians in Gaza to be protected against genocide by Israel.

Since October 2023, at least 40,000 Palestinians – 2% of the entire population – have been killed, over 93,000 – 4% of the population – are injured, and  nine out of ten people are displaced. More than half of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed, and around 20% are significantly damaged, rendering these areas uninhabitable. Fewer than half of Gaza’s hospitals are partially functioning. On 29 August 2024, the Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Joyce Msuya, stated: “The situation in Gaza is beyond desperate… Civilians are hungry. They are thirsty. They are sick. They are homeless. They have been pushed beyond the limits of endurance – beyond what any human being should bear.”

The inhumane and illegal displacement has been constant for almost an entire year. Starting on 13 October 2023, the Israeli military gave people in northern Gaza and Gaza city – some 1 million persons – 24 hours to ‘evacuate’ to the south of the Gaza Strip. Today, more than 86 percent of Gaza remains affected by over 40 evacuation orders issued since 1 January 2024. Paula Gaviria Betancur, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) stated in March of 2024 that, “Israel’s evacuation orders have not made the people of Gaza safer; on the contrary, they have been used to forcibly transfer and confine the civilian population in unlivable conditions.” Two months later, in May 2024, the ICJ’s third provisional measures order stated that the Court was “not convinced that the evacuation efforts and related measures that Israel affirms to have undertaken to enhance the security of civilians in the Gaza Strip… are sufficient to alleviate the immense risk to which the Palestinian population is exposed.” On the contrary, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territory found that “[t]he total siege and near-constant carpet-bombing, along with draconian evacuation orders and ever-shifting “safe zones”, have created an unparalleled humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza, and where “the sheer scale of evacuations, amidst an intense bombing campaign, [...] increased levels of panic, forced displacement and mass killing.” Israel’s evacuation orders cannot be considered effective warnings, considering the appalling conditions and limited number of shelters, the lack of safe routes for displaced persons, and the ongoing severe threat of attack. They violate international humanitarian law and may be considered war crimes.

The forced displacement is ongoing and relentless. More recently, in August of 2024 alone, Israel issued 16 evacuation orders, many of them targeting locations that were previously designated as part of the so-called ‘humanitarian safe zone’ in central Gaza, and particularly in and around Deir al-Balah. These so-called ‘evacuation’ orders obstruct essential aid operations, denying access to a besieged civilian population. In UN OCHA’s latest report, they affirmed that, “Continuous displacement is disrupting access to nutrition sites and distribution cycles; hindering partners’ ability to maintain consistent service delivery.” To cite one example, the World Food Programme's forced evacuation from their main operating hub in Deir al-Balah has drastically reduced its capacity to provide critical food assistance, leaving Palestinians with even fewer desperately needed resources. Independent UN experts had already declared in July 2024 that the “hunger and malnutrition leaves no doubt that famine has spread across the entire Gaza Strip”, even before the latest round of ‘evacuations’.

Such acts are tantamount to forced displacement and may even form part of the actus reus of genocide. The  ICTY held that “forcible transfer could be an additional means by which to ensure the physical destruction” of the group. Further, the UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel found  that the Israeli conduct around evacuation orders, including “the dissemination of information regarding evacuations, the feasibility of safe evacuation, the voluntariness of evacuation, safety concerns and the possibility of return considering the extensive damage to structures within the Gaza Strip”, as well as statements by Israeli officials and public figures demonstrate an intent to forcibly transfer Palestinians in Gaza. Third States have the legal obligation to prevent and suppress the crime of genocide, ensure that Israel’s illegal displacement orders are brought to an end, and that Israel allows the entry of sufficient aid to Gaza, and ceases any obstruction to its distribution.

In light of this, we urge UN member states to:

• Take meaningful and concrete actions to enforce an immediate and permanent ceasefire;
• Intervene immediately to protect the Palestinian people against permanent forced displacement and destruction;
• Act decisively to ensure and enable the safe return of Palestinian refugees and internally displaced persons at the earliest possible stage;
• Exert pressure on Israel to allow unimpeded access for humanitarian aid to reach the civilian population; and
• Impose sanctions and trade and a two-way arms embargo on Israel in order to induce it to cease its breaches of international law and to comply with its obligations.
   

Signed organizations

Al-Haq

Al Mezan Center for Human Rights

Community Action Center / Al Quds University

Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development

Law for Palestine