UN rights office warns of escalating displacement in Gaza

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that Israeli forces have expanded their deployment to cover about 70 percent of the Gaza Strip, pushing residents into ever-smaller areas and targeting sites used by displaced families. Over the past two weeks the office documented westward expansion of military zones in Al Shujaiyeh, Gaza City and three locations in middle Gaza – eastern Al Bureij, eastern Deir Al-Balah and eastern Al Maghazi.

In Al Shujaiyeh, at least two attacks were reported on displacement camps, and explosive robots were used to destroy remaining structures. OHCHR said a drone strike on 25 October hit tents at the Al Shujaiyeh junction near the “yellow line,” igniting a fire that burned for five hours and displaced 200 families, roughly 800 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Public Works and Housing.

“The nightmare of displacement in Gaza is both acute and chronic,” said Ajith Sunghay, Head of UN Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. “Those displaced before the announcement of a ceasefire have little to no prospect of return to the areas they fled, most of which are inaccessible because they fall beyond the so-called yellow line. And they continue to be displaced again and again.”

OHCHR warned that, as an occupying power, Israel must halt the forcible transfer of Palestinians within Gaza, noting that such actions could amount to a war crime and possibly a crime against humanity. The office also highlighted restrictions on the entry of shelter-related humanitarian aid, which it says exacerbate the displacement crisis.