1 million people being forced towards unlivable, so called “humanitarian area” in mass forced displacement
Israel’s order that around 1 million civilians, half of whom are living in famine, must leave Gaza City immediately, is impossible and illegal Oxfam said today.
Displacement orders, on leaflets thrown from the sky, or posted on social media are all too familiar in Gaza, where every order has preceded new waves of destruction and mass casualties.
Israel’s plan to concentrate around 1 million people into tiny slivers of already overcrowded and ill-equipped “camps” is as unrealistic as it is inhumane, with just 16.5 square miles (under 12% of the Gaza Strip) allocated to this so-called “humanitarian area” for people to move to. That would mean an additional 1 million people are expected to live in under–resourced spaces located in the southern part of the Gaza Strip, while most of the remaining humanitarian and emergency infrastructure is currently located in the middle area of the Strip. Under the current circumstances – without any guarantee of support, accommodation, or safe return, the orders amount to serious violations of international humanitarian law (IHL).
It is the latest manifestation of the Government of Israel’s deliberate policy of the Government of Israel to use starvation and forced mass displacement as weapons of war.
“The ongoing displacement orders and the push of people deeper into “humanitarian zones”- which we know have never been safe at all- mean it becomes almost impossible to deliver aid effectively. Israel’s siege and severe limitations placed on the entry of aid also means people already in these zones lack the most basic of services even before hundreds of thousands more are forced into the same area,” said Ruth James, Oxfam’s Regional Humanitarian Coordinator, speaking from Gaza.
Oxfam's partner organizations are under attack and facing severe pressure. On Sunday, an Israeli attack near the headquarters of the Aisha Association for Woman and Child Protection in Gaza City resulted in the killing of one of the employees, a pregnant woman, and a 7-year-old boy and critically injuring many others. The organization plays a leading role in the protection of women and children. Their premises are used as shelters by displaced people.
Dr Umaiyeh Khammash, Director of Juzoor, an Oxfam partner, and working in Gaza City promoting health as a basic human right, said: “While Juzoor’s team continues its humanitarian mission, moving alongside the forcibly displaced population and sharing in their suffering and uprooting, the coming days will inevitably bring more loss of lives and even further deterioration in the health and well-being of the population. Mental health is collapsing under the weight of sustained trauma—people are enduring daily nightmares of fear, shock, and hopelessness, with no sense of safety anywhere, in a crisis that will leave deep scars, not just on this generation, but on generations to come.”
Many of those already ordered to leave their homes are too weak from starvation, cannot afford the exorbitant transport costs to move, or are unwilling to leave for an area already over-crowded and not guaranteed safe. A recent multi-agency survey found that while 53% of surveyed residents said they would move if they received an official order, only 27% of those said they would move out of Gaza City, with others saying they would move to another area within Gaza City. 14% said they would not move.
This indicates that hundreds of thousands of people will be trapped in the city under increasingly heavy bombardment, with little or no aid reaching them.
“As the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza City deepens by the hour, there must be an end to this violence and deprivation,” said Ruth James. “There must be an urgent halt to all forced displacement operations, and large-scale delivery of food, water, medicine, vital water-infrastructure repair equipment and fuel.”
Oxfam is calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and release of all hostages and unlawfully detained prisoners. The international community must stop sending arms to Israel that enable the genocide that Palestinians in Gaza have been enduring for over 700 days needs to end now.
/ENDS
Notes to editors:
- Harvard Dataverse report with mapping and analysis of "humanitarian" zone announcement.
- The recently published Intergrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report determined that Famine (IPC Phase 5) is currently occurring in Gaza Governorate. Furthermore, the FRC projects Famine (IPC Phase 5) thresholds to be crossed in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis Governorates in the coming weeks.
- According to the UN, at least 1.9 million people – or about 90 per cent of the population – across the Gaza Strip have been displaced during the war. Many have been displaced repeatedly, some 10 times or more.
- On 6 September, Israeli authorities published a map of the new "humanitarian zone" comprising Al Mawasi, including the western parts of Khan Younis city (mainly Khan Younis Camp and al-Amal district) and excluding the Middle Governorate.
- As of 3 September, 86.5 per cent of the Gaza Strip remains within the Israeli-militarized zone, under displacement orders, or where these overlap.