(Legal Analysis from the Perspective of International Humanitarian Law)
Introduction
The ongoing war on the Gaza Strip from 7 October 2023 to the present day is considered one of the bloodiest wars in the history of the Palestinian–Israeli conflict. Its intensity and impacts have surpassed all previous wars waged by Israel against Palestinians. Since the Nakba of 1948, which witnessed the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, and through the Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank in 1967, followed by repeated waves of internal displacement during successive wars and military operations—whether in Gaza or the West Bank—Palestinians have been subjected to a continuous series of forced displacement operations under systematic colonial policies. This tragedy has reached its peak in the ongoing war of extermination waged by Israeli occupation forces since 7 October 2023, and continuing to this day in the Gaza Strip.
During this war, Israeli forces have used systematic policies including the targeting of civilians—resulting in more than 53,000 deaths and thousands of missing persons to date according to the Ministry of Health’s statistics—as well as the destruction of infrastructure and residential areas, with approximately 70% of Gaza’s homes destroyed or damaged, in addition to widespread and massive destruction of infrastructure and cultural and religious landmarks. This is further compounded by the occupation’s imposition of a total siege on the Gaza Strip and the prevention of the entry of fuel, humanitarian aid, or medical supplies, leading to the collapse of the health system and severe shortages of food and water—so much so that international institutions have repeatedly warned of the risk of a mass famine in Gaza. In addition, the policy of forced displacement has unfolded across the Strip, constituting the largest forced displacement wave in the history of the conflict. It has displaced an unprecedented number of the vast majority of Gaza’s residents under catastrophic and tragic conditions, with more than 1.9 million Palestinians—over 85% of the Strip’s population—displaced according to UN reports. Israeli forces also currently control more than 79% of the Gaza Strip’s area.
This systematic policy practiced by Israel is the subject of this report. The report seeks to analyze how Israel has used forced displacement as a tool of war against the population of the Gaza Strip from a legal perspective, and to demonstrate the violations committed by Israel of international law, international humanitarian law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and the lived reality of displaced persons.
Application of International Law Rules to the Case of Displacement in the Gaza Strip During the Ongoing War of Extermination
“The essence of the fundamental problem we suffer from in Palestine generally, and not only in the Gaza Strip, is that Israel is an occupying state. International law imposes strict rules upon it regarding the territories it occupies. There are fixed and fundamental rights of the Palestinian people: the right to self-determination, the right to national independence and sovereignty, and the right of return. Since the majority of Gaza’s population are refugees displaced in 1948, what Israel is doing today in its war on Gaza is nothing but a deepening of the ongoing displacement of the displaced, and the ordering of the displaced to be displaced again.”
During its war on the Gaza Strip, Israeli occupation forces have carried out what constitutes the largest extermination in modern history, without regard for any humanitarian ethics or any legal rules or international provisions intended to protect civilians in Gaza, and without any attempt to spare them the consequences of this extermination. Rather, it has pursued—brutally—every possible and impossible method to satisfy the impulse of revenge, implement the Israeli political leadership’s policies, and achieve their ambitions and aspirations to occupy the Gaza Strip and render it uninhabitable in order to push Palestinians to emigrate from it. This is repeatedly evidenced in statements by political officials. An Israeli minister described the displacement of Gaza’s population southward as the “Nakba of 2023.” In another statement, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer said in December 2023: “There will be no humanitarian crisis in Gaza if there are no civilians there.” The so-called “voluntary migration” plan for Palestinian residents of Gaza—which Israel has promoted repeatedly to Arab states and others despite widespread condemnation—is arguably the real, undeclared objective of the war of extermination. Israel has implemented these plans and orientations on the ground through repeated violations of international law.
(“The very basis of international law is to guarantee the right of individuals and groups to live in their homelands, communities, and homes, and to enjoy life safely. International law prohibits any act that undermines their rights, freedoms, or property.”)[1]
International humanitarian law includes provisions preventing displacement and protecting internally displaced persons as part of the civilian population. These provisions are entrenched in the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, the Additional Protocols I and II of 1977, and also in customary international humanitarian law. All these instruments explicitly prohibit the displacement of civilians.
First: The Reality of Displacement in the Gaza Strip During the War of Extermination
“In Gaza, acts of war show a complete disregard for human life, in full view of the world. People are besieged, bombed, displaced, and starved again. Among the dead are: children, humanitarian and medical workers, paramedics and journalists. No one is safe, and no one is spared.”
Forced displacement in the Gaza Strip represents an escalating humanitarian tragedy, imposing extremely harsh conditions that make maintaining a dignified life extraordinarily difficult. This is due to large-scale evacuation orders covering wide, densely populated geographic areas and directing residents toward designated “humanitarian zones,” as Israeli forces claim. Those displaced face major challenges related to the limited space, inadequate field conditions, short timeframes, and movement restrictions—along with repeated attacks on these areas and a policy of repeated evacuations. These displacement waves are not temporary; they are a chronic condition and a systematic policy used by occupation forces during the war against Gaza’s population—without regard for international laws and agreements prohibiting the deportation of residents or forcing them to leave their homes without safe corridors, adequate shelters, or access to food and water—leaving them to uncertainty without safety or security. Israel has not even complied with the narrow limits permitted under international law for evacuating specific areas under strictly defined conditions.
The Fourth Geneva Convention expressly provides in Article 49: “Individual or mass forcible transfers, as well as deportations of protected persons from occupied territory to the territory of the Occupying Power or to that of any other country, occupied or not, are prohibited, regardless of their motive.”[2]
Regarding the narrow and specific exception in the same article—which allows an occupying power to undertake total or partial evacuation of a particular occupied area only if required for the security of the population or for imperative military reasons—Dr. Samia Al-Ghussein stated in an in-depth interview that “the interest of civilians takes precedence over any other consideration.” She added that even within the permitted exception, the clause is “clear and very narrow,” applicable only in cases of urgent military necessity or military advantage, and the means used must be proportionate to circumstances while taking account of the condition of civilians and safeguarding their lives and property. Even when evacuated, they remain civilians whose rights remain protected under international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. She further emphasized that if residents are transferred, they must be moved to a safe area (hospital and safety zones or demilitarized zones), which are provided for in international law and the Fourth Geneva Convention. The primary purpose of such zones is to protect civilians and spare them the conflict and its effects. Their coordinates are communicated to the parties to the conflict so they are not targeted; they are established by agreement between the parties; neutral actors provide services and assistance to civilians; and humanitarian missions are ensured free access without restrictions or coordination barriers.[3]
While forced displacement and internal uprooting of civilians is one of the gravest violations of the fundamental rules governing armed conflict—especially under the Fourth Geneva Convention and Additional Protocol I—Israeli forces, from October 2023 to the present day, have pursued this systematic criminal conduct as a tool of war in Gaza, attempting to circumvent international law. Instead of displacement being a protective measure imposed by international law to spare civilians, it has been turned into a policy and operational tool used by occupation forces to evade their international responsibilities. According to the latest UN report, at least 1.9 million people—around 90% of Gaza’s population—have been displaced during the war, many repeatedly, some 10 times or more. Since the latest evacuation orders, more people have been forced to flee in search of safety. According to OCHA, more than two-thirds of Gaza (around 70%) falls within “no-go” areas, active displacement orders, or both.
1) Practices of the Occupying Forces in Using Displacement as a Tool of War
During the ongoing war of extermination from 7 October 2023 until May 2025, Israeli occupation forces employed multiple systematic methods to force residents to flee and evacuate their homes. A UN official stated that “Israel’s announced plans to forcibly relocate Gaza’s residents to a small area in the south of the Strip, and Israeli officials’ threats to expel Palestinians outside Gaza, increase concerns that Israel’s actions aim to impose living conditions on Palestinians increasingly incompatible with their continued existence as a group in Gaza.”
These methods violate the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, including protection from arbitrary displacement, protection during displacement, humanitarian assistance, and protection during return, resettlement, and reintegration.
They also constitute a clear violation of Rule 129 and Rule 131 of customary international humanitarian law,[4] which prohibit parties to a conflict from carrying out evacuation or forcible transfer of civilians from their homes during armed conflicts.
Forcible displacement, deportation, or transfer may also constitute genocide under Article 6 of the Rome Statute if the intent is to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group by forcibly removing it from its land and homes.
It may also constitute a crime against humanity under Article 7(1)(d) of the Rome Statute if carried out on a widespread or systematic basis, or as part of a systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack.
As explained in the same provision, “deportation or forcible transfer of population” means the forced displacement of the persons concerned by expulsion or other coercive acts from the area in which they are lawfully present, without grounds permitted under international law.
It is also a war crime under Article 8(2)(a)(vii) regarding grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 relating to unlawful deportation or transfer, and also a war crime under Article 8(2)(b)(viii) if the occupying power directly or indirectly transfers parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies, or unlawfully deports or transfers all or parts of the occupied population within or outside that territory.
(“K.J., 37, married, resident of Al-Sabra neighborhood, said: ‘Since the beginning of the war, I, my wife, and our four children have been displaced more than 15 times. We first fled on 10 October 2023 to my sister’s home in Al-Yarmouk after a neighboring house was struck and my home was severely damaged. After the first evacuation order on 13 October—ordering us to go south of Wadi Gaza and classifying it as safe—this was my second displacement. The displacements continued: from Nuseirat to Khan Younis, then to Nuseirat, then Rafah, then Khan Younis, then Deir al-Balah. I was displaced within the same area more than once. More than once we walked on foot, leaving our tent and belongings and carrying only what we could on our backs—either because there was no time, because we couldn’t afford transport due to extreme prices, because fuel was unavailable, or because the area was classified as dangerous and a vehicle reaching us was a gamble—such as my displacement from Nuseirat (‘Al-Da‘wa’) to Rafah in January 2024 until my return to Gaza City on Monday morning, 27 January 2025.’”)
First: The Policy of Military Evacuation and Displacement Orders
Under Articles 48 and 51 of Additional Protocol I—which prohibit attacks on civilians, indiscriminate attacks, reprisals, and collective punishments against civilians and civilian property—Israeli forces have, since the start of the war, issued numerous forced evacuation orders based on developments in operations and Israeli policies, as claimed by Israel. Observing these systematic orders that force residents to flee under threat of weapons and death, it is apparent that the repeated forced evacuations, comprehensive destruction of infrastructure, and escalating killings aim to create a new reality and push people— as described above—toward “voluntary migration” amid the absence of basic conditions of life. This is affirmed by the statement of the UN High Commissioner’s spokesperson: the escalating issuance of “evacuation orders”—which are in fact displacement orders—has forcibly moved Palestinians in Gaza into increasingly shrinking spaces where access to life-saving services (water, food, shelter) is barely available or entirely unavailable, and where they continue to be attacked—constituting a clear violation of international law.
A) Methods and Means of Forced Evacuation Orders (Military Orders)
The Israeli army used various means and new forms of evacuation orders, including: dropping paper leaflets from aircraft with maps of areas to be evacuated; loudspeakers via drones; sending messages to mobile phones; publishing notices on the social media pages of the army spokesperson and the Coordinator of Government Activities. The army distributed maps containing numbered blocks to announce displacement orders and divided Gaza into units according to these leaflets and maps, adding a QR code to scan by mobile phones to identify areas required to evacuate. Israel claimed this helped civilians avoid attacks, yet it was ineffective because Israel cut electricity to Gaza in the first days of the war, disrupting communications and preventing many residents from charging phones. These notices often contained contradictory and unclear information, causing widespread panic among residents.
B) Stages of Forced Displacement (Military Evacuation Orders)
“Punishment orders”: it was stated that “military evacuation orders dropped from planes or published online or sent via mobile phones or calls do not absolve Israel of its obligations under international law to spare civilians from military operations. These orders were often vague, unclear, and contradictory; they did not give enough time; and they were frequently a punitive and threatening tool rather than a protective one. Residents often returned to their areas even though, according to the orders, they were still classified as combat zones—red zones.”[5]
1) Phase One (October 2023): Mass displacement order for North of Wadi Gaza
On 13 October 2023, Israeli forces issued their first and largest collective evacuation order, instructing residents of north of Wadi Gaza to evacuate to areas south of Wadi Gaza. The population covered by this order was about 1.1 million people. South of Wadi Gaza was designated as the evacuation destination, described as safe/humanitarian areas. UN reports indicate around 800,000 displaced persons from north of Wadi Gaza reached one of the southern governorates (Central Gaza, Khan Younis, Rafah).
2) Phase Two (November 2023 – January 2024): Central and southern areas targeted
Orders expanded to include central and southern Gaza (Khan Younis and the central camps: Nuseirat, Al-Bureij, Al-Maghazi), which represent about 28% of Gaza’s area. These zones included displaced people from the north and local residents; the combined number exceeded half of Gaza’s population, who then fled to Rafah and the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis, designated as “humanitarian zones” by Israel.
3) Phase Three: The Rafah assault (May 2025)
In an unprecedented development, the Israeli army ordered all residents of Rafah and the displaced persons sheltering there—where more than half of Gaza’s population was concentrated—to evacuate to new areas in Al-Mawasi (Khan Younis), described as safe “humanitarian zones.”
4) Phase Four: Emptying North Gaza (“Generals’ Plan”) (October 2024)
In October 2024, the Israeli army issued new evacuation orders for North Gaza. Reports indicate about 400,000 residents remained there after choosing not to evacuate. At that time, 79% of Gaza was subject to active displacement orders. The UN estimated 100,000–130,000 people moved from North Gaza to Gaza City, while an estimated 70,000–75,000 remained in North Gaza.
5) Return of displaced persons from south of Wadi Gaza to the north (26 January 2024 — temporary ceasefire)
After 471 days of war, residents experienced one of the harshest displacement ordeals since 1948. People returned north according to arrangements allowing vehicles on Salah al-Din road and pedestrians only on the coastal Al-Rashid road, amid complex security procedures and the presence of Egyptian, Qatari, and American forces to search returnees on Salah al-Din road. With no full withdrawal of Israeli forces and the designation of certain areas as dangerous “red zones,” OCHA documented the return of about 376,000 Palestinians to North Gaza on the first day—returning to unprecedented destruction and the absence of basic life necessities.
In a statement described as unprecedented, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff told Axios that “almost nothing remains of Gaza,” adding: “people are moving north to go back to their homes and see what happened and then go back and leave… there is no water, no electricity… it’s astonishing how much damage there is.” This reflects the scale of destruction returnees faced.
The temporary ceasefire continued until 18 March 2025, when Israeli forces announced the resumption of military operations, triggering new large displacement waves. Thousands fled in search of safety as the humanitarian crisis deepened: “Gaza’s people have suffered unimaginable suffering. This is unacceptable. The ceasefire must be reinstated immediately.”
6) Phase Five: Repeated displacement and searching for safe areas (ongoing)
This phase spans all previous phases and continues to this day. Residents endured repeated forced evacuation orders, forcing them to flee multiple times in search of safety, on varying timelines throughout the war. Successive mass evacuation orders have displaced 90% of Gaza’s population since October 2023, often multiple times, exposing them to harm and depriving them of survival necessities. Since Israel resumed operations after residents had returned north following the temporary ceasefire that lasted nearly two months, displacement has recurred. Estimates indicate approximately 428,000 people were displaced again since the escalation of hostilities.
C) Targeting the Designated Displacement Areas (“Humanitarian Zones”)
“The big cage”: these areas cannot be described under international law as humanitarian or safe zones as Israel claims. This is captured in a question-form answer: “How many times have these areas been targeted? What are living conditions like there? How many times have people been displaced from them?”[6]
A “safe zone” means a temporary area aimed at preserving civilian safety and shielding them from hostilities.
Israeli forces crowded Gaza’s entire population into the so-called “expanded humanitarian zone—Al-Mawasi.” After forcing people into inhumane conditions that threaten life, in an extremely narrow geographic space unfit for habitation, the area became overcrowded. Potable water, food, and healthcare were scarce. Although Israel claimed staying there would save lives, it intensified attacks on displaced civilians living in tents in the area it labeled humanitarian/safe. The bombardment of this and other displacement-concentrated areas demonstrates there is no truly safe place in Gaza. A BBC study found that the “safe” zone in Gaza—where the Israeli army told residents to go “for their safety”—was hit by 97 strikes since May of that year.
Second: The Policy of Systematic Destruction of Homes and Infrastructure
Israeli policies did not stop at killing thousands of civilians or mass forced displacement. They extended to collective punishment by destroying homes and essential infrastructure, including schools, homes, hospitals, agricultural lands, and more. Intensive bombing caused widespread destruction of homes and other key infrastructure. Israeli forces destroyed and damaged more than 90% of Gaza’s housing units during the war, making displacement a survival necessity and rendering return nearly impossible due to the absence of basic life necessities—thereby forcing residents into displacement. A UN official stated: “wide-scale destruction and demolition by Israeli forces of civilian infrastructure and others, including residential buildings and schools and universities, in areas where there is no fighting or where fighting did not take place.”
This violates prohibitions on collective punishment, as affirmed by Articles 33 and 53 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Article 75 of Additional Protocol I (1977), which prohibit collective penalties against civilians and the confiscation, destruction, pillage, or looting of private civilian property.
(“J.J., 54, married with nine children from Al-Zeitoun neighborhood, said: ‘I was forced to flee south to try to protect my children and to treat my young daughter. I found only a broomstick to bind her shattered hand after she was injured in a strike on Al-Falah school on 17/11/2023, where we had sheltered the night before. My home had been struck during the fire belt raining down on us. I did not intend to flee; I only wanted to get my daughter to the nearest medical point. The only nurse I found at Al-Zeitoun clinic told me: “your daughter needs urgent surgery to save her hand from amputation, and she has less than 24 hours.” I called my wife and told her I would meet them at Kuwait Roundabout while they moved south. I called my daughter’s husband and asked him to wait at the nearest reception point for displaced people. I carried my daughter to Kuwait Roundabout and waited more than two hours; they did not arrive. I thought they might have gone ahead, so I moved toward the “Al-Hallabat” checkpoint to find them. Suddenly I heard my name called from the east side of the road where the tanks were. I went and found a soldier ordering me to place my daughter on a metal sheet and ordering me to head south. I hesitated, then with his shouting and my daughter’s screams I moved south, and found my in-law waiting with a donkey cart to take my daughter to the nearest hospital. On the way he told me my wife and children were now at a relative’s home in northeast Nuseirat…’”)
1) Housing
According to statistics, approximately 297,000 housing units were partially damaged, and 87,000 housing units were completely destroyed. UNOSAT indicated that 156,423 buildings were damaged, including 245,123 housing units. OCHA reported that more than 1.8 million people currently need shelter in Gaza. Two-thirds of Gaza’s buildings before the war—more than 170,000 buildings—have been destroyed or reduced to rubble, about 69% of all buildings in Gaza, forcing residents into displacement due to lack of adequate shelter, contrary to international laws and treaties.
(“A.M., 34, married with two children, from Gaza and currently displaced in the central area, said: ‘My house was completely destroyed, my husband’s family house was completely destroyed in the Netzarim axis buffer zone, and my parents’ house was completely destroyed. I have nowhere to return to. Life in Gaza City is almost impossible due to the absence of basic life necessities. We do not know when, how, or where the next displacement will be as the war and siege continue.’”)
2) Public and social facilities (hospitals, schools, universities, education institutions, government buildings, mosques, churches, heritage sites)
Government Media Office data show: 225 government buildings destroyed; 143 schools/universities/educational institutions destroyed completely; 366 destroyed partially; 828 mosques destroyed completely; 167 mosques severely damaged needing reconstruction; 3 churches targeted; 38 hospitals damaged/burned or put out of service; 81 health centers damaged/burned or put out of service; 164 health institutions damaged/burned or put out of service; 206 heritage and archaeological sites bombed.
3) Electricity, telecommunications, water, sanitation, and roads
“A quake struck Gaza” describes the scope of destruction across all sectors. According to the Government Media Office: 90% of roads destroyed (2.83 million linear meters); 88% of water and sanitation networks destroyed (655,000 linear meters); 330,000 linear meters of water networks destroyed; 717 wells destroyed; electricity network destroyed 100%, including 3,780 km of electricity lines and 2,105 distribution transformers.
4) Agriculture
The agricultural sector suffered severe destruction. Reports indicate more than 60% of agricultural lands were damaged and became unusable. 2.4 million residents face famine risk due to agricultural collapse and siege. Key impacts include: 92% of pre-war cultivated land (178,000 dunums) destroyed; vegetable cultivation reduced to 7,000 dunums out of 85,000; 85% of greenhouses destroyed; annual vegetable production fell to 49,000 tons from 405,000; 100% of Gaza’s fisheries harmed due to direct attacks and restrictions; and 95% of livestock died or were slaughtered during the war.
Third: The Policy of Siege and Starvation of Civilians as a Tool to Force Displacement
Contrary to Article 54 of Additional Protocol I, which prohibits starving civilians as a method of warfare and prohibits destruction of objects indispensable to civilian survival.
Israel used starvation and a total siege against civilians as a systematic method of war through various mechanisms across time and geography during the war of extermination, aiming to force displacement. This prompted many states to call on Israel not to use this prohibited weapon against civilians in Gaza. “Civilians in Gaza face an overwhelming daily struggle to survive amid hostilities risks, relentless displacement, and the consequences of being deprived of urgent humanitarian aid.”
R.Sh., 33, from Al-Nasr neighborhood, married with three daughters (the eldest five; the youngest born during our first displacement on 5 November 2023), reported that after heavy bombardment and the entry of occupation forces into Al-Shati camp, they fled to Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, staying about a week sleeping on the floor under open sky in extremely harsh conditions. Bombardment was intense; food was limited to biscuits; water was salty like sea water fetched from bathrooms. Friends urged him to flee south, but news said the army was firing at men, women, and children; he feared the journey. There was no transport, no safe roads—only death on the roads. After the army stormed Al-Shifa hospital, he fled with his wife, newborn, and daughters to the Al-Sahaba area on Al-Jalaa street. As starvation worsened in North Gaza and prices skyrocketed, and after he was injured during the “Flour Massacre” at Nabulsi Roundabout on Sheikh Ajleen beach while trying to obtain flour for his children, he decided to flee south on 5/3/2024—beginning a new displacement suffering that continues due to having no home to return to and the threat of famine.
1) Total siege and closure of crossings
(“Israel’s new policy of delivering aid in Gaza through distribution areas supervised by foreign security companies confirms that these cannot be called humanitarian zones. The declared and applied Israeli conditions amount to blackmail of citizens to obtain aid, which is a clear violation of the conditions established under international law for aid access.”)[7]
Israeli forces imposed a tight, intensified siege from the beginning of the war, building on the blockade imposed for more than 17 years. They prevented entry of food, medicine, and fuel, creating unbearable living conditions that pushed people to flee in search of food, water, medicine, and safety. On 9 October 2023, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said there would be “no electricity, no food, no water, no gas… everything is closed.” This confirms the political leadership’s policy of using hunger as a weapon to force displacement. This is further evidenced by the Israeli government’s decision on 2 March 2025 to halt humanitarian aid to Gaza and keep crossings closed until further notice, reflecting an intentional policy of depriving Gazans of basic life necessities and worsening catastrophe. This constitutes a war crime under the Rome Statute and may constitute genocide under the Genocide Convention, despite laws, norms, treaties, and international warnings regarding famine.
Senior UN officials urged the world to act urgently. A UN official said: “blocking aid kills.” Preventing aid starves civilians, leaves them without essential medical support, strips dignity and hope—an especially cruel form of collective punishment.
2) Destruction of vital infrastructure
Israeli forces directly targeted sources of food (agricultural lands, flour mills, bakeries), as well as water tanks and desalination plants amid fuel shortages and power outages, alongside near-total collapse of Gaza City and North Gaza healthcare systems.
As in the siege of North Gaza in February 2024, starvation escalated dramatically, pushing many to flee south on foot in extremely difficult conditions.
3) Direct attacks on aid convoys
“Humanitarian workers cannot operate under such conditions. We are here to provide urgent assistance to civilians in need. Ensuring the delivery of vital aid to medical facilities is a legal obligation under international humanitarian law.”
Israeli forces directly targeted UN and international institutions and aid convoys, attempting to neutralize them and prevent their relief role, in clear violation of human rights law, despite these institutions continuously providing coordinates of their premises and movements to Israeli forces.
The number of aid workers killed in Gaza since the start of the war (about a year and a half) reached 408, including 280 UNRWA staff.
The Palestinian Prime Minister announced Gaza a “famine zone,” stating: this famine is not a natural disaster; it is a deliberate humanitarian crime; silence is complicity; the time to act is now.
Israel’s policy of total siege and starvation cannot be seen as incidental or a byproduct of war; it must be described as a systematic policy of collective punishment targeting a population protected by international law, aimed at extermination or forcing displacement, rising to the level of a war crime requiring international accountability and decisive measures to stop it and protect civilians.
Israel has flagrantly violated the Fourth Geneva Convention (1949), the Additional Protocols (1977), customary international humanitarian law, and the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, all of which explicitly prohibit civilian displacement. These rules aim to prevent or mitigate civilian harm, prohibit uprooting, and provide necessary protection for internally displaced persons during conflict.
Fourth: The Political and Strategic Objectives and Dimensions of Forced Displacement
Statements by Israeli political leadership and the Israeli army’s plans implemented in Gaza, as well as the Israeli government’s decision to establish an administration for the displacement of Gaza’s population, show that forced displacement throughout the ongoing war is not merely a tool of war, but a systematic policy intended to push people toward “voluntary migration,” given the destruction that has eliminated life conditions in Gaza. We can analyze the objectives and strategic dimensions of forced displacement as a war tool aimed at displacing as many Palestinians as possible and fragmenting Gaza’s population by destroying all means of life, ending resistance, imposing occupation and security/political control over Gaza’s future, deepening Palestinian division, and maintaining Gaza’s separation from the West Bank and the rest of Palestine through:
Military and security control by establishing buffer zones along borders; Israel seeks a buffer zone inside Gaza extending for several kilometers, cutting off parts of Gaza and creating a new geopolitical reality through evacuation orders that emptied large border areas and facilitated the army’s operations.
Demographic change and emptying Gaza of its population. Israel has long sought to reduce Palestinian presence. These policies serve its central aims of settlement and territorial expansion. Planning and construction policies together amount to a form of spatial cleansing. Mass killings also create new demographic realities and additional social burdens on displaced communities.
Isolating Gaza and dividing it into small enclaves. Israeli forces have pursued a policy of division and displacement, dividing Gaza into three parts and annexing the north, controlling movement, preventing return, facilitating infrastructure destruction, and undermining resistance by separating it from its social base. Repeated evacuation-and-bombardment cycles increased deaths and injuries. The “Generals’ Plan” is an example. This policy makes life nearly impossible and pushes people toward the ultimate goal: facilitating “voluntary migration.”
Pressure on Egypt, Jordan, and neighboring states by reviving resettlement projects for Palestinians.
An Israeli intelligence ministry policy paper presented options for dealing with Gaza, suggesting that the “best option” to solve Israel’s security problem and ensure the safety of surrounding settlements is to displace Gaza’s population. The paper acknowledged major obstacles, including Arab (especially Egyptian and Jordanian) rejection and international refusal. Israel continues attempting to revive the long-standing plan of displacing Palestinians into Sinai. Forced displacement as a war tool is thus a continuation of old-new projects aimed at liquidating the Palestinian cause and negating the right of return—evidenced by directing residents via evacuation orders toward Rafah border areas as a “safe zone,” seemingly as a prelude to expulsion.
Fifth: International Decisions and International/UN Positions
(“Reality proves that what we are subjected to in Gaza constitutes multiple ongoing crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, because these crimes directly targeted civilians—as reflected in the numbers of killed and wounded and the near-total destruction of civilian and cultural objects, particularly as they were not used for military purposes under international law.”)[8]
The international diplomatic arena showed glaring shortcomings in response to the war on Gaza, which began on 7 October 2023 and continues to this day. Despite ongoing Qatari and Egyptian mediation, diplomatic deadlock dominated amid divergent international and regional stances. This war exposed the fragility of international organizations and the hollowness of claims of international legitimacy. Their silence was closer to complicity than neutrality. Security Council, General Assembly, and Secretary-General actions were late and ineffective on the ground. Key actions include:
South Africa’s genocide case against Israel filed on 29 December 2023, alleging genocide in Gaza, citing evidence including mass civilian killings, home destruction, displacement, siege on food and water and medical aid, and destruction of health infrastructure.
ICJ order of 26 January 2024 requiring Israel to take specified provisional measures to prevent genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, with subsequent complementary orders on 16 February 2024 and 28 March 2024.
UN Security Council Resolution 2720 of 22 December 2023, calling on parties to comply with international law, protect civilians and civilian objects, ensure humanitarian access, protect humanitarian workers and their freedom of movement, rejecting “the forcible displacement of the civilian population, including children,” and reaffirming obligations to refrain from attacking, destroying, removing, or rendering useless objects indispensable to civilian survival.
International Criminal Court arrest warrants issued on 21 November 2024 against Benjamin Netanyahu (Israeli Prime Minister) and Yoav Gallant (former Defense Minister) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
International and UN positions varied widely without producing tangible results. Some states and organizations condemned the war and issued statements expressing concern about systematic killing, displacement, and potential war crimes and crimes against humanity, but without serious diplomatic pressure to stop the war or effective measures like those undertaken by South Africa.
Israel’s refusal to comply with ICJ measures and Security Council decisions is a clear contempt for its international legal obligations and for the UN system. This is not the first instance of Israeli disregard; it has long violated international commitments as documented by countless UN human rights reports and international and national rights organizations—without accountability.
(“Israel must stop its ongoing violations of international law. What can mitigate the impacts on civilians is an immediate end to the war, lifting the siege, allowing aid entry, and enabling displaced persons to return freely and without restrictions—these are basic rights guaranteed under international law and international humanitarian law. UN member states must fulfill their international obligations and exert political and diplomatic pressure on Israel to implement UN decisions, meet its obligations, and respect international law in its practices and conduct.”)
Conclusion
Confronting Israel’s policy of forced displacement in Gaza requires a coherent legal and political response from the international community grounded in international justice and human dignity. The clear objective of Israel’s use of forced displacement is the geographic and demographic liquidation of the Palestinian presence, imposing a new reality that undermines any two-state solution, and turning the Palestinian cause into a refugee crisis managed outside the framework of historical rights. This demands urgent international intervention to stop violations, hold Israel accountable for breaches of international law and international humanitarian law, and prevent the erosion of the international system. Allowing these violations to pass without effective accountability entrenches impunity and paves the way for broader future crimes.
Forced displacement in Gaza is not merely a transient humanitarian crisis; it is the product of a systematic policy that used displacement as a tool of war to facilitate destruction, starvation, and leverage for future bargaining. It has turned Gaza into an uninhabitable area and caused catastrophic demographic and social change, which facilitates Israel’s aim of pushing Palestinians to emigrate “voluntarily.”
The facts presented indicate that IHL principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions, and the Guiding Principles’ protections against arbitrary displacement, protection during displacement, humanitarian assistance, and protection during return/resettlement/reintegration—aimed at ensuring parties distinguish civilians from combatants and avoid deliberate attacks while minimizing harm—were clearly and gravely violated by Israeli political leadership and military forces.
Israel’s policy of using forced displacement as a war tool led to the displacement of at least 1.9 million people—about 90% of Gaza’s population—over months through evacuation orders covering about 80% of Gaza’s areas. Israeli forces used various methods to compel flight, including intensified bombardment, starvation, siege and closure of crossings, destruction of homes and infrastructure, blocking aid, preventing return, and shrinking accessible areas. These methods violate the principles and rules in international law, international humanitarian law, and the Fourth Geneva Convention, and constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Israel did not comply with the basic IHL requirements when issuing evacuation orders and did not take the necessary measures to prevent harm to civilians and civilian facilities. Rather, it directed its actions against them, as demonstrated by the numbers of deaths and injuries and the scale of destruction in Gaza.
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza escalated severely, along with social and economic deterioration, due to siege and systematic killing and destruction that rendered Gaza uninhabitable, increasing reliance on external aid and raising existential risk due to the absence of shelter, food, water, and medicine—amid serious fears these acts are a prelude to “voluntary migration” plans promoted by Israel.
A major demographic change occurred due to deaths, and a geographic change through Israel’s seizure of areas and annexation under the claim of buffer zones.
This war also demonstrated the inability of international institutions to fulfill their duties to protect civilians and to apply the international laws they proclaim—raising questions about their role and effectiveness in such cases and their influence on conflict parties.
Recommendations
Immediate end to the war: The international community must pressure Israel to stop bombardment and aggression, protect civilians, and allow them to return to their homes freely and without restrictions or conditions.
Immediate lifting of the siege: Open crossings and ensure urgent entry of humanitarian aid, food, and medical supplies without restrictions, with emphasis on providing houses or tents for displaced persons and limiting famine impacts, allowing entry of heavy machinery to remove rubble, and urgently initiating a reconstruction plan.
Protection of displaced persons: Deploy international missions to ensure no geographic or demographic change occurs in Gaza.
Activate international accountability mechanisms: Expand the work of the independent investigation commission to document forced displacement as an organized crime; submit detailed legal files including names of responsible Israeli officials involved in displacement policies for prosecution; and impose targeted and effective sanctions.
Systematic documentation: International and local institutions must document violations methodically; collect evidence on displacement conditions including evacuation orders, repeated bombardment, deprivation of shelter/food/medicine; document impacts on social groups as indicators of the systematic nature of the crime; and coordinate reporting to international forums.
Counter disinformation: International media and influential platforms must challenge misleading Israeli narratives claiming displacement is for civilian protection, and expose the policy of using displacement as a war tool against Gaza’s Palestinian population.
Footnotes
[1] Interview with Dr. Samia Al-Ghussein, PhD in International Criminal Law, dated 10/4/2025.
[2] Article 49 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (Fourth Geneva Convention), previously cited.
[3] Interview with Dr. Samia Al-Ghussein, previously cited.
[4] Rules No. 129 and 131, Chapter 38 on displacement and displaced persons, Customary International Humanitarian Law, Volume I, ICRC publications.
[5] Interview with Dr. Samia Al-Ghussein, previously cited.
[6] Interview with Dr. Samia Al-Ghussein, previously cited.
[7] Interview with Dr. Samia Al-Ghussein, previously cited.
[8] Interview with Dr. Samia Al-Ghussein, previously cited.
