UN Human Rights in Occupied Palestinian Territory
Ramallah
7 October 2024
The UN Human Rights Office is appalled by the loss of civilian life following the intensification of strikes, shelling and ground operations by the Israeli military in northern Gaza, in parallel with the announcement by the Israeli military of new military operations in Jabalya and yet new evacuation orders issued for Palestinians residing in northern areas.
In the past 48 hours, intense Israeli Air Force strikes and Israeli Ground Forces shelling were reported in Beit Lahia and Jabalya, including Jabalya Refugee Camp, hitting houses and other residential buildings as well as a sports club sheltering internally displaced persons, killing dozens of Palestinians, including children and a journalist reporting from Jabalya Refugee Camp. On the morning of 6 October, the Israeli military announced that it had re-positioned troops from Rafah to North Gaza, encircling Jabalya, reportedly trapping Palestinian residents, placing civilians in danger and further cutting them off from access to the essentials of life. Attacks also continued intensively in Gaza City and Middle Gaza overnight: we reiterate that no place is safe in Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military issued yet two evacuation orders to residents in North Gaza and Gaza City, requiring them to move south through Al Rasheed or Salah Ad Deen Roads, requiring them to move to the unilaterally declared humanitarian zone in Al Mawasi. The Israeli military also issued another evacuation order for residents of blocks in An Nuseirat and Al Bureij Camps, also requiring them to move to Al Mawasi, already packed with IDPs. Palestinians are already exhausted by months of continuous attacks and repeated displacement. The attacks in northern Gaza, combined with mass evacuation orders, which are inconsistent with international humanitarian law, raise serious concerns about the forced displacement and forced transfer of Palestinian residents of Gaza.
The UN Human Rights Office urges the parties to the conflict to implement an immediate ceasefire and recalls that all parties to the conflict must strictly comply with IHL. It reminds members of Palestinian armed groups that using the presence of civilians to shield themselves from attack constitutes a violation of IHL; Palestinian armed groups must cease and refrain from any such use and take all feasible precautions to protect civilians under their control from the effects of hostilities. In any event, any such use would not affect the requirement for the Israeli military to strictly comply with the fundamental IHL principles of proportionality, distinction and precautions in attack. Israel, as the occupying power, must comply with its obligations under international law to restore and ensure order and public life in Gaza, as well as ensure the provision of food, medical supplies and shelter for the population of Gaza, as ordered by the International Court of Justice in its Order on provisional measures under the case on the Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.
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UN Human Rights office at ohchr-opt@un.org
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