By Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA (Reuters) – The U.N. Human Rights office accused Israel on Friday of violating international law by forcibly displacing Palestinians in Gaza under “mandatory evacuation orders”.
The Israeli army has issued what the U.N. describes as 10 mandatory evacuation orders, covering large areas across Gaza, since it resumed its war against Hamas on March 18, breaking a two-month-old ceasefire amid rows over terms for extending it.
“These evacuations fail to comply with the requirements of international humanitarian law,” U.N. human rights spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said in a statement on Friday.
Israel’s mission to the U.N. in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Israel has previously denied violating humanitarian law in Gaza, blaming Hamas militants for harm to civilians by operating among them. Hamas denies this.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence minister have been indicted alongside Hamas leaders by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on war crimes charges, which Israel rejects.
“Israel is not taking any measures to provide accommodation for the evacuated population, nor ensure that these evacuations are conducted in satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition,” Al-Kheetan’s statement added.
Over half of northern Gaza appears to be under such orders, it said, while those who have been newly displaced from the south of the enclave in the Rafah area and forced to go to coastal Al Mawasi were not guaranteed safety there.
“We are deeply concerned about the shrinking space for civilians in Gaza who are being forcibly displaced by the Israeli army from large swathes of territory,” it added.
Since Israeli airstrikes resumed on March 18, at least 855 Palestinians have been killed and 1,869 injured, according to the U.N., which cited figures from the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin)
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