New York: Israel's reported plans to forcibly transfer Gaza's population to a small area in the south of the Strip, coupled with threats by Israeli officials to deport Palestinians outside of Gaza, have raised concerns that Israel's actions are aimed at creating living conditions increasingly incompatible with the continued existence of Palestinians in Gaza as a group, the United Nations warned.
According to Emirates News Agency, Volker Trk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated, "There is no reason to believe that doubling down on military strategies, which, for a year and eight months, have not led to a durable resolution, including the release of all hostages, will now succeed. Instead, expanding the offensive on Gaza will almost certainly cause further mass displacement, more deaths and injuries of innocent civilians, and the destruction of Gaza's little remaining infrastructure."
He further explained that this would compound the misery and suffering inflicted by the complete blockade on the entry of basic goods for almost nine weeks. Gaza's residents have already been deprived of lifesaving necessities, particularly food, with relentless Israeli attacks on community kitchens and those trying to maintain a minimum of law and order. Any use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of war constitutes a war crime.
Trk emphasized that the only lasting solution to this crisis lies through full compliance with international law, as articulated by the International Court of Justice in its 2024 Advisory Opinion and its orders on provisional measures.
