ISRAEL have been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by a prominent human rights organisation.
Human Rights Watch said in a report released today that Israeli authorities have caused the massive, deliberate forced displacement of Palestinian civilians in Gaza since October 2023.
The report is being published amid an ongoing Israeli military campaign in northern Gaza that has likely created a new wave of forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians.
The 154-page report, “‘Hopeless, Starving, and Besieged’: Israel’s Forced Displacement of Palestinians in Gaza,” examines how Israeli authorities’ conduct has led to the displacement of over 90 percent of the population of Gaza—1.9 million Palestinians—and the widespread destruction of much of Gaza over the last 13 months.
“The Israeli government cannot claim to be keeping Palestinians safe when it kills them along escape routes, bombs so-called safe zones, and cuts off food, water, and sanitation,” said Nadia Hardman, a researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Israel has blatantly violated its obligation to ensure Palestinians can return home, razing virtually everything in large areas.”
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 people, Palestinian health officials have said.
The officials do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but say more than half of those killed were women and children.
Israel's war on Gaza began after Hamas militants stormed into Israel on October 7 2023, killing some 1200 people — mostly civilians — and abducting 250 others.
Lebanon’s Hezbollah group began firing into Israel on October 8 2023, in solidarity with Hamas in Gaza.
Since then, more than 3200 people have been killed in Lebanon and more than 14,200 wounded, the country’s health ministry reported.
In Israel, 76 people have been killed, including 31 soldiers.
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, an Israeli air strike on an apartment building south of Beirut killed at least six people and wounded 15, the Health Ministry said.
