Evacuation Of Northern Gaza

During the Israel–Hamas war, the Israeli military ordered most residents of Gaza to evacuate their homes, displacing hundreds of thousands of people and contributing to a broader humanitarian crisis in the territory. It is the largest displacement of Palestinians in 75 years. Palestinians have described the evacuation as the "second Nakba."

The first evacuation order was given on October 13, 2023, one week after Hamas led an attack on Israel from Gaza. Israel officials told the 1.1 million Gazans who lived north of the Wadi Gaza, including Gaza City, to evacuate within 24 hours. Paula Gaviria Betancur, UN special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, condemned the forcible evacuation order as a crime against humanity and a violation of international humanitarian law.

Israel's ground invasion of Gaza began on 27 October. By November 4, some 800,000 to 1 million people had moved to the southern Gaza Strip, while 350,000 to 400,000 remained in the north. Multiple reports also indicated Israel targeted Palestinians during the evacuation and attacked and bombarded them in the southern Gaza Strip. Evacuees described the evacuation corridors as unsafe, and full of terror from Israeli soldiers and dead bodies along the road.

On 1 December, Israel began issuing evacuation orders across the entire Gaza Strip, dividing the territory into 620 zones. UN officials said Gazans were being pushed into an area one-third the size of the total territory. Some 80 percent of the territory's population was at the time in the southern Gaza Strip. Hamas instructed civilians not to evacuate, and there are multiple reports indicating that Hamas physically hindered Gazans from fleeing to the south.

Evacuation of northern Gaza

Timeline

October 2023

* After Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7, Israel quickly responded with airstrikes on Gaza.
* By 11 October, international efforts were being made to open a humanitarian corridor for civilians.

* October 13: The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) issued a warning to Gazans who live north of the Wadi Gaza, including in Gaza City, to move south within six hours. The United Nations declared this broad evacuation order impractical to execute safely.
* Over the next two days, hundreds of thousands fled to southern Gaza.

November 2023

* On 1 November Egypt allowed the first "critically sick and wounded" Palestinian and "selected" foreign national evacuees to leave Gaza.
* Around 8 November, Israel announced a daily four-hour humanitarian corridor.
* By 9 November, estimates of the number of people remaining in northern Gaza ranged from the low hundreds of thousands to at least 900,000. Those who remained had little to no access to water, food, or electricity.
* On 8 November, an estimated 50,000 people evacuated northern Gaza.
** Many fled on an evacuation corridor along Salah al-Din Road, one of Gaza's two north-south highways.
** Civilians fled northern Gaza on foot or on donkey carts. As they passed Israeli tanks, civilians waved white flags, though some reported Israeli soldiers firing at them and passing dead bodies along the road.
** Evacuees reported having to pass through Israeli checkpoints, where IDF soldiers made arrests.
* On 10 November, an Israeli spokesman stated 100,000 people had fled northern Gaza in the prior two days.
* UNICEF's Regional Director Adele Khodr said that thousands of children remained in northern Gaza, whose lives were "hanging on by a thread."
* On 12 November, Israel announced a temporary four-hour "temporary tactical cessation of military activities" at the Jabalia refugee camp to allow for residents to evacuate south. A Palestinian journalist noted the humanitarian pauses only extended to Salah al-Din Street, but not to any of the roads leading to it.
* On 12 November, CARE International noted, "The journey to the south is incredibly dangerous and hard. Many of those who have made it out have experienced and witnessed terrible suffering." The same day, the International Committee of the Red Cross released a statement, noting it was "gravely concerned by the precarious and unsafe conditions under which civilians are evacuating." In an article in ''The Intercept'', Gazan journalist Hind Khoudary compared the evacuation to the Trail of Tears, writing, "We kept walking. As we walked, pushing each other, we saw bombed cars and dead bodies inside the cars. Flies filled the cars, feasting on the blood and the bodies inside."
* On 15 November, OCHA stated Israel was arresting evacuees, reportedly beating and stripping people naked.
* On 16 November the Palestinian Red Crescent released, on Twitter, a 14 second video of evacuees, including children and wounded on stretchers, walking 11 km (6.8-mile) from Gaza City to southern Gaza.
* On 17 November, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimated there were still some 800,000 civilians in northern Gaza.
* Journalist Jihad Abu Shanab, covering the evacuation on Salah al-Din road stated men were being denied access past an Israeli checkpoint into southern Gaza.
* On 14 November 2023 OCHA said that Palestinians were reportedly being facially scanned while passing through automatic checkpoints.
* On 18 November Doctors Without Borders condemned a "deliberate Israeli attack" on a medical convoy evacuating northern Gaza.
* Around 21 November Mosab Abu Toha, a poet, was detained at an Israeli checkpoint.
* On 22 November UNICEF reported unaccompanied children were evacuating south by themselves.
* On 22 November Israel leafleted villages east of Khan Younis, ordering residents to evacuate immediately westwards to "known shelters."

* Evacuees described the evacuation path as full of death and horror.

December 2023

* In the case of one family, Al Jareeza reported on 3 December, three brothers were apprehended, and their family was left not knowing what happened to them more than two weeks later.
* On 22 December Israel issued instructions people in several areas to "immediately move to shelters in Deir al-Balah".

January 2024

* On 4 January 2024, Israel announced the closure of Salah al-Din Street as a humanitarian corridor and the transfer to al-Rashid Street.
* Residents on the coastal side of Gaza City were ordered to evacuate on 29 January. The evacuation orders affected an estimated 88,000 people.
* Speaking in the '' South Africa v. Israel'' case, Adila Hassim SC told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the first evacuation order on 13 October 2023 was "genocidal".

February 2024

* On 6 February, UNOCHA stated that two-thirds of Gaza, 246sq km (95sq miles), and once home to 1.78 million Palestinians, was under evacuation orders by the IDF.
* The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and the Critical Threats Project reported the Israeli army was in Gaza City and planning to clear out the remaining 200,000 people in humanitarian shelters.
* The ISW reported that Israeli forces were building a road to divide northern and southern Gaza.
* Israel ordered the residents of the Zeitoun and Turkmen neighborhoods in Gaza City to evacuate to al-Mawasi.

Hospitals

On 14 October 2023, Israel ordered the evacuation of 22 hospitals in northern Gaza. The WHO described the order as a "death sentence" for the sick and wounded. Doctors Without Borders issued a statement calling the order "outrageous," "an attack on medical care and on humanity," and condemned it "in the strongest possible terms." The World Health Organisation released a plea requesting Israel to rescind the orders, noting the extreme difficultly moving patients in critical care, the depletion of medical supplies, and that "the four Ministry of Health hospitals in south Gaza are already beyond capacity". Similar statements were issued by UNICEF and IRC. The WHO expressed concern about the evacuation order sent to the al-Quds Hospital in Gaza.

On 29 October 2023, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization, described reports from the Palestinian Red Crescent that the al-Quds hospital had received an urgent evacuation warning and notice that it was "going to be bombarded" as "deeply concerning." He reiterated that it was "impossible to evacuate hospitals full of patients without endangering their lives."

Doctors across northern Gaza stated they were unable to follow Israel's evacuation order, since their patients, including newborns in the ICU, would die. On Monday 16 October, Israel ordered the al-Ahli Arab Hospital, and the rest of northern Gaza, to evacuate. Because of insufficient beds in the southern Gaza Strip and no means of transporting patients, such as newborns in incubators or patients on ventilators, the evacuation orders were widely regarded as impossible to comply with. On 17 October, a widely condemned explosion in the al-Ahli courtyard resulted in significant fatalities.

On 10 November, Muhammad Abu Salmiya, the director of Al Shifa hospital, noted that despite Israeli bombings, medical staff would stay with patients until the "last moment." Abu Salmiya stated, "There is a war against hospitals... this has never happened in any war." On 12 November, the IDF announced that it was enabling a safe passage from Al-Shifa, Rantisi, and Nasser hospitals, and opened and secured an additional one to help people to evacuate to the south. On 13 November, however, the Gaza Health Ministry stated thousands of patients were unable to evacuate, after Israel's military encircled health facilities.

On 14 November, Human Rights Watch noted the impossibility of evacuation from al-Shifa Hospital, stating , "There is no reliably safe route to evacuate. Satellite imagery confirms fires, military operations, and roadblocks on every conceivable route. And many sick and injured people in the hospital wouldn't be able to evacuate even if the roads were clear." At least 40 patients died during the Al-Shifa Hospital siege and its subsequent evacuation.

Attempts to return north

On 22 November 2023, Israel and Hamas agreed to a temporary ceasefire. In response, internally-displaced persons in the south attempted to return north. Israeli soldiers fired at the evacuees, killing two and wounding eleven. The IDF issued a warning telling evacuees not to attempt to return north.

On 29 November some individuals were able to return to the al-Nasr Hospital and raised claims that IDF forces had abandoned medically complex children who died and decomposed in their beds. The hospital director had told Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor he had sent an appeal to aid groups about the children after being forced to evacuate and leave them behind by IDF forces. Two independent forensic pathologists reviewed the raw footage for ''NBC News'' saying that the advanced stages of decomposition of the dead infants is consistent with the roughly two weeks from the time the infants would have been abandoned to the date the video was shot. In February 2024, displaced Palestinians who returned to Gaza City "found that their homes, and even their neighbourhoods, no longer exist."

On 26 February, 2024, Yoav Gallant stated people would be allowed to return to northern Gaza "only after all hostages" had been released. Israel was reportedly considering setting up tent cities in central Gaza and Khan Younis.

Attacks on evacuees

Both Hamas and the IDF accused each other of preventing the evacuation of Palestinians from northern Gaza. According to Hamas, Israeli airstrikes bombed and killed civilians complying with the evacuation order. According to the IDF, Hamas bombed, shot, and placed roadblocks for civilians trying to escape. Hamas told civilians that roads were unsafe, stating that Israel had attacked trucks carrying evacuees. The IDF also alleged that Hamas instructed civilians to return to the north.

On October 13, Gaza mosques broadcast messages telling Gaza Strip residents to not evacuate, stating, "Hold on to your homes. Hold on to your land." On 14 October, the IDF said Palestinians moving south were stuck in traffic caused by Hamas' roadblocks.

Missile attacks

On 13 October 2023, multiple bombings targeted Palestinians attempting to leave northern Gaza City, killing 70 people, mostly women and children, and injuring 200. Hamas issued a statement accusing Israel of bombing civilians. In return, Israel accused Hamas of blocking Palestinians' evacuation, in order to use them as "human shields." Although there are disputes about the exact details of the attacks, a number of sources attribute responsibility to an Israeli missile strike.

On 3 November, fourteen people were killed by an Israeli bombardment while attempting to evacuate northern Gaza. On 11 November, the United Nations noted several explosions had hit the evacuation corridor on Salah al-Din Road, resulting in fatalities and injuries.

Tank attacks

On 30 October, Israeli tanks blocked the roads connecting Gaza City to southern Gaza and fired on civilian vehicles complying with Israeli orders to evacuate. In one instance, a tank at Netzarim attacked a car and a bus, killing three people. On 3 February 2024, an Israeli military vehicle reportedly opened fire on civilians fleeing Khan Younis.

Gunfire attacks

After the ground invasion of Gaza, the IDF opened protected humanitarian corridors from Gaza City to South Gaza According to ''Ynet'', Palestinian civilians were attacked attempting to flee Gaza City. Civilians reported Israeli soldiers open-firing. On 23 January 2024, the IDF reportedly open-fired on a car attempting to evacuate to Rafah, killing four people. On 26 January, residents of al-Dahra, Khan Younis were reportedly ordered by the IDF to evacuate to Rafah on a specific road, then came under Israeli gunfire while fleeing on that road.

Strikes on safe zones

Analyses by ''CNN'', ''The New York Times'', and ''Sky News'' all found that Israel had bombed areas it had previously told civilians to evacuate to. The ''Sky News'' investigation also concluded that Israel's evacuation orders had been "chaotic and contradictory", ''NYT'' found that Israel had dropped 2,000-pound bombs in those areas, while ''CNN'' stated it had verified at least three locations Israel bombed after telling civilians it was safe to go there. On 10 January 2024, the UN Human Rights Office stated Israel was placing "civilian lives at serious risk by ordering residents from various parts of Middle Gaza to relocate to Deir el-Balah – while continuing to conduct air strikes on the city". The same day, an Israeli strike in Deir el-Balah near the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital reportedly killed and wounded more than forty people.

The Gaza Media Office reported on 22 January that five shelters housing up to 30,000 displaced people were being targeted by the Israeli military. Forensic Architecture confirmed that the strikes had been conducted by Israeli military tanks. On 4 February, the Media Office reported an airstrike in a supposedly "safe area" in Deir el-Balah, killing thirty people.

Southern Gaza

Conditions

After telling civilians to evacuate south, Israel continued to bomb the areas it told people to go to. On 6 November, ''Al Jazeera'' journalist Hani Mahmoud described southern Gaza as a large concentration camp. On 9 November, the UN estimated 30,000 northern Gazan residents had returned to the north after failing to find shelters in the south. Due to UNRWA shelters being overcrowded, many northern Gazan refugees slept in the streets. Hospitals in southern Gaza reported inadequate medical resources to deal with the volume of wounded arriving from the north. Refugees described the situation as "primitive" with "no safety." Families reported evacuating as many as five times.

On 11 November, the Interior Ministry stated Israel launched airstrikes in "so-called safe areas" in southern Gaza. IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi stated "more and more regions" would be targeted moving forward. Following Israel's evacuation orders for Palestinians to flee northern Gaza, the IDF intensified its attacks on southern Gaza. On 18 November, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant stated soon all of Gaza would feel the "IDF's lethal force."

By 7 December, an estimated half million displaced people were in Rafah, with many sleeping in the streets as UN shelters were completely overwhelmed. On 9 December, the UN reported extreme overcrowding at its shelters in Rafah, with rampant cases of scabies, lice, and diarrhea. Internally displaced persons sheltering in Al-Fukhari reported overcrowding and unsafe conditions. On 12 December, conditions in Rafah were reported as "catastrophic," with women and girls slept 70 people in one room, while men and boys slept in outdoor tents. Diseases, including smallpox, influenza, and intestinal diseases, were reportedly spreading in Rafah. By 13 December, the UN estimated half of Gaza's entire population was in Rafah. By 19 December, Israel was attacking areas in Rafah once considered safe zones. On 20 December, the United Nations stated Rafah was the most densely populated area in the Gaza Strip.

On 21 December, a ''Sky News'' analysis found Israel was directly targeting areas that it was telling people to flee to. The United Nations stated that up to thirty percent of the Gaza Strip was under evacuation orders. By 2 January 2024, the United Nations reported 1 million displaced people were in Rafah, with hundreds of thousands sleeping outside. The Gaza Health Ministry spokesman stated on 13 January that Rafah's infrastructure was reaching a breaking point and unable to handle the number of people there. OCHA reported on 16 January there was no food or medicine in Rafah.

On 18 January, the UNICEF executive global director stated, "This time as I went into Rafah, you go into the first crossing and you've got tents upon tents, plastic sheeting upon plastic sheeting, as far as the eye can see". By 25 January, the International Committee of the Red Cross stated more than 1.5 million people were living in a 60sq km (23sq miles) radius. On 1 February, Physicians for Human Rights stated people were suffering from freezing conditions in southern Gaza's tent cities. The Gaza Health Ministry reported there were 30,000 displaced people without food or water. Displaced people described being forced to flee without any of their belongings, with only the clothes they were wearing. On 29 February, Jan Egeland, the head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, stated he was "shocked by conditions" in Rafah and stated the humanitarian aid system was broken.

Southern Gaza evacuations

On 16 November, the IDF dropped leaflets warning residents in southern Gaza to move to the western side. Mark Regev stated Israel sought to create a "safe zone" in the southwestern corner of the Gaza Strip. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the chief of the World Health Organization, said it was a "recipe for disaster." The chiefs of multiple United Nations agencies stated they would not cooperate in the creation of the safe zone unless conditions were in place to ensure safety and essential needs were met.

Following the end of the temporary truce on 1 December, Israel released maps dividing Gaza into hundreds of numbered districts with marked "evacuation zones." The IDF dropped leaflets warning civilians in southern Gaza to evacuate to Rafah. The IDF again recommended evacuation to a "humanitarian area" in the southwestern corner called Al-Mawasi, though the UN stated there were no humanitarian preparations in Al-Mawasi. On 2 December, the IDF issued evacuation orders to Bani Suheila and Al-Qarara, near Khan Younis. One order in Khan Younis stated, "The IDF will start a crushing military offensive... For your safety, move immediately." UNOCHA warned the orders did not indicate to civilians where they should go. The warnings were distributed by leaflets with a QR code which posed difficulties for people without internet service. Civilians stated they felt they had nowhere left to go.

On 5 December, Bushra Khalidi, a legal expert with Oxfam, stated 1.8 million people were being pushed into an area about the same size as London's Heathrow airport. The vice-president of the International Rescue Committee stated people were being bombed at the places they were told to flee. On 5 December, Israel issued new warnings in Khan Younis stating, "Don't get out. Going out is dangerous. You have been warned." The UN estimated the number of displaced Palestinians in Rafah was expected to rise to as many as 1 million people. Residents in Gaza stated evacuation orders came with little time before bombings began. Humanitarian organizations additionally stated Israeli evacuation orders were prone to change with almost no notice to civilians. On 6 November, Israel reportedly dropped leaflets with a Quran verse reading, "The flood overtook them as they were wrongdoers."

Residents reported significant technical and logistical issues with Israel's app-based evacuation system. People attempting to flee to Rafah from Khan Younis encountered craters from Israeli bombardments along Salah al-Din Road. On 11 December, Khan Younis was ordered evacuated as tanks entered the city. On 20 December, Israel ordered large areas of Khan Younis to evacuate. It ordered the Bureij refugee camp to evacuate on 22 December. A 23 December evacuation order demanded 150,000 residents of central Gaza to flee to Deir el-Balah. Two days later, Deir el-Balah was hit by airstrikes. The town was reportedly overcrowded by evacuees. On 4 January 2024, another wave of displacement occurred as people fled the Bureij, Maghazi and Nuseirat camps in central Gaza.

On 3 February 2024, the IDF dropped a leaflet in central Gaza stating, "This is all just a drop in the ocean. Wake up. Your future is in your hands."

Evacuation of Khan Younis

On 24 January, Israel ordered a large area of Khan Younis to evacuate, affecting three hospitals, 24 United Nations shelters, and more than 500,000 people. On 25 January, IDF soldiers were reportedly detaining and searching young men fleeing from Khan Younis without explanation. Residents of western Khan Younis were ordered to evacuate to al-Mawasi on 26 January. Images released on 27 January showed thousands fleeing Khan Younis. The evacuations were described as "completely chaotic." The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the evacuation of Khan Younis "a cruel expansion and deepening of forced displacement from southern regions."

On 28 January, ''Al Jazeera'' journalist Hani Mahmoud wrote people trying "to flee the horror on different routes away from the bombing were targeted by tank and artillery shells and small-arms fire". On 31 January, the UN reported that they had been forced to evacuate Khan Younis, losing a health clinic and major shelters for displaced people. On 1 February, UNOCHA reported 184,000 people had registered for humanitarian assistance from the outskirts of Khan Younis. On 14 February, Israel ordered the evacuation of the approximately 8,000 people sheltering at Nasser Hospital. On 3 March, residents of the Al-Qarara and Hamad City neighborhoods in Khan Younis appealed for a safe evacuation after reporting they were trapped by Israeli forces.

Military action

On 18 November, former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert said that the "real headquarters" of Hamas was not at al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, but rather in Khan Younis in the south. By 28 November, the Israeli government indicated it planned a military offensive in southern Gaza following the end of the temporary ceasefire. ''The Guardian'' reported unofficial Israeli plans of evacuating villages one-by-one before beginning airstrikes. On 30 November, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant reportedly suggested a ground operation in southern Gaza would kill fewer civilians.

On 1 December, Israel resumed airstrikes in the southern Gaza Strip, resulting in residents attempting to rescue people buried under rubble by hand. More than 170 died on the first day of the ceasefire's end. The offensive into southern Gaza was reportedly focused on Khan Younis. The IDF stated it struck more than 50 targets in Khan Younis in the first day of resumed fighting. The strikes were made in advance of an expected ground invasion. According to satellite imagery analysis by ''The New York Times'', the IDF began their ground invasion in southern Gaza on 3 December. On 12 December, Martin Griffiths stated, "what's happened is the assault on southern Gaza has been no less than the north".

On 28 December, a residential building full of displaced people was bombed in Rafah. People used their bare hands to try to rescue people. On 4 January 2024, the Gaza territory government stated Israel had bombed "safe areas" forty-eight times. The Gaza media office stated the bombings killed 31 people. On 6 January, safe areas in Rafah were bombed. Five people, including four children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Rafah on 10 January. On 17 January, intensive bombing was reported throughout southern Gaza, including in areas once deemed safe zones. Daniel Hagari stated that the focus of the Israeli military in Gaza was Khan Younis. By 21 January, the Israeli army was moving into central Khan Younis, blowing up residential buildings, and pushing people further south into Rafah. On 22 January, ''Al Jazeera'' journalist Hani Mahmoud wrote, "Very dark days ahead as the situation gets worse by the hour."

Attack on Rafah

On 1 February 2024, Yoav Gallant announced the IDF would turn to Rafah once they "complete the mission" in Khan Younis. Displaced people had been fearing an assault on Rafah, as "there is no farther south they can move."
''Al Jazeera'' reported people in Rafah were in a state of disbelief, as "it seems they have no other place to go". Volker Türk, the UN human rights chair, stated he was "deeply worried by Israel defence minister's remarks on military push to Rafah. This sets off alarm bells for massive civilian casualties and further displacement". UNOCHA reported on 2 February that "Rafah is a pressure cooker of despair, and we fear for what comes next." The "level of panic" amongst displaced people in Rafah rose after Yoav Gallant stated, "Victory won't be complete unless the military expands into Rafah."

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry stated an Israeli assault on Rafah would lead to "the annihilation of about 1.5 million Palestinians, or an attempt to displace them". A Norwegian Refugee Council representative stated, "People in Rafah are trapped between Israeli tanks and the Egyptian border. I don't think the announcement of an evacuation plan is realistic. Where would people go?" On 10 February, an unnamed Israeli official stated Palestinians in Rafah would be evacuated northward. On 10 February, people in Rafah reportedly began fleeing to Deir el-Balah. A Human Rights Watch researcher stated, "This evacuation would be unlawful if it is ordered". In an interview with ''ABC News'', Netanyahu stated Palestinians in Rafah would be granted "safe passage" out of the city.

On 12 February, Thomas White, the UN's Gaza relief director, stated that Israel's offensive in Rafah would result in "a million people ovingin the Gaza Strip into areas that are not set up to accommodate them". The Palestine Red Crescent Society stated, "There is no safe place at all and there is no way to evacuate." Tareq Abu Azzoum, a journalist on the ground, stated Rafah was functioning like a "massive shelter" and warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in the city if the Israeli military were to attack, due to the large number of children and elderly people unable to easily evacuate.

On 14 February, the United Nations said it would not be involved in an evacuation of Rafah, stating, "The UN does not participate in forced, non-voluntary evacuations. There is no plan at this time to facilitate the evacuation of civilians". On 10 March, Israel Katz told Israeli public radio that the U.S. wanted to see a Rafah evacuation plan before an invasion.

Al-Mawasi

Israel declared Al-Mawasi a "safe zone". Internally displaced persons who fled to Al-Mawasi reported no water, electricity, or buildings to shelter. The UN and relief groups do not recognize Al-Mawasi or provide services there. On 26 December, Israel bombed Al-Mawasi, killing one woman and saying it would not refrain from bombing safe zones. Israeli bombings on 4 January 2024 focused on al-Mawasi, killing 14 people from two families, mostly children under ten. On 14 January, UNOCHA reported that the displaced in al-Mawasi camp were in need of humanitarian supplies. On 15 January 2024, three displaced people sheltering in a tent were reported killed by an Israeli airstrike. On 22 January, the Gaza Health Ministry stated Israeli soldiers had raided the al-Khair hospital in al-Mawasi and arrested medical staff. In an interview, one woman stated, "It's all a lie. The Israeli army ordered people and gathered them in al-Mawasi area and then targeted it." On 23 January, Israeli warplanes reportedly bombed tents for displaced people.

On 3 February 2024, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported it finished setting up the fifth shelter camp in Al-Mawasi, able to house up to seventy families. On 6 February, a woman was killed by an Israeli sniper. Two people were injured by Israeli gunfire on 24 February. On 10 March, at least 16 people were reported hospitalized following heavy Israeli bombardment. Israeli shelling on 11 March killed at least 14 people.

Refugees

On 8 January, Al Jazeera reported Egyptian officials were allowing individuals with at least $8,000 USD to enter Egypt, leading Palestinians to use sites like GoFundMe to fundraise enough money to leave Gaza. On 29 January, ''The Guardian'' reported that Palestinians were paying bribes of up to $10,000 to flee into Egypt. Antony Loewenstein, an investigate journalist, warned of Israeli intentions to push Palestinians out of Gaza, stating, "There is really intention here to make Gaza so unlivable, which is essentially what has become in vast parts of Gaza, that really Palestinians have little choice". '' SBS News'' reported that Palestinians evacuating Gaza to Australia had their visas revoked mid-flight.

International evacuations

Dual citizens and the families of international citizens faced a difficult time evacuating from the Gaza Strip. U.S. citizens and their families sued the federal government due to what they stated was the Biden administration's failure to help them evacuate Gaza. In February 2024, the Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller stated that none of the more than 1,000 people authorized to leave Gaza into Canada had been allowed to leave, stating, "I'm pretty pissed off about it."

In March 2024 it was announced that the German embassy and the charity SOS Children's Villages International, 68 children without parental care, 11 employees and their families, were evacuated out of Rafah and into Bethlehem in the West Bank. The organization were caring for the children before the war began and they were moved with the consent of their legal guardians and aid from the Israeli government. The involvement of the Israeli government, announced by the UN has generated anger from some officials, with security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir calling it a "fake humane measure".

Responses

Ibrahim Fraihat, a professor at Georgetown University, stated Israel's "very clear message is mass expulsion; everyone has to leave." In response to Israeli orders to evacuate parts of southern Gaza, Amnesty International urged the IDF to rescind the orders, stating they violated international law and amounted to a forced displacement. Israeli professor Neve Gordon told ''Al Jazeera'' that the evacuation orders gave Israel the ability to cast the entire population of northern Gaza as proximate human shields.

UN response

In a statement, the UN warned of "devastating humanitarian consequences" of displacing 1.1 million Palestinians. Shortly after the evacuation orders were issued, UN facilities, including UNRWA, were instructed to move to Rafah. U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths stated that "The United Nations cannot be part of unilateral proposal to push Palestinians into so-called safe zones." UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini stated a sustained military assault on southern Gaza could push as many as 1 million refugees to try to escape into Egypt. In an op-ed in the ''Los Angeles Times'', Lazarrinni warned Israel was attempting to push Palestinians into Egypt. Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, stated Palestinians were being "pushed more and more towards a narrow corner of what is already a very narrow territory."

Israeli response

In a social media post, MK Ariel Kallner wrote, "Right now, one goal: Nakba! A Nakba that will overshadow the Nakba of 48. Nakba in Gaza and Nakba to anyone who dares to join!" On 1 November, MK Galit Distel-Atbaryan wrote on X, "the Gazan monsters will fly to the southern fence and try to enter Egyptian territory. or they will die." On 12 November, Israeli security cabinet member Avi Dichter stated of the evacuation, "We're Rolling Out Nakba 2023." On 13 November, MKs Danny Danon and Ram Ben-Barak wrote an op-ed in the ''Wall Street Journal'' calling for "relocation programs" for Palestinians. On 14 November, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated he welcomed the "voluntary immigration of Gaza Arabs to the countries of the world." In an op-ed in ''The Jerusalem Post'', Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel wrote that rather than "funneling money" to rebuild Gaza, the international community could instead resettle Gazans in "new host countries." Settler groups held conferences to push for an Israeli resettlement of Gaza.

The Direct Polls survey published in December 2023 found that 83% of Israelis supported encouraging the voluntary emigration of residents of the Gaza Strip.

On 27 December, MK Avigdor Lieberman stated Israel should tear down the Gaza-Egyptian border, stating, "As soon as there is no obstacle there, I estimate one-and-a-half million Gazans will leave for Sinai and we will not disturb anyone". On 31 December, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the removal of Palestinians from Gaza. On 2 January, Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir stated, "We will do what is best for the State of Israel: the migration of hundreds of thousands from Gaza". Smotrich reiterated his call for expulsion again on 9 January. On 15 January, Alon Davidi, the mayor of Sderot, stated, "If a million Gazans return to the northern Gaza Strip – that's a defeat." On 22 February, Netanyahu stated, "In the north, we have a simple goal – to return the residents."

Palestinian response

In the first hours following Israel's northern evacuation orders, Gazan government officials recommended Gazans not to leave the north, urging those in affected areas to ignore the order and stay in their homes. In a statement, the Interior Ministry of the Gaza Strip stated Israel sought to "displace us once again from our land." The Hamas Authority for Refugee Affairs told residents in northern Gaza to "remain steadfast in your homes and to stand firm in the face of this disgusting psychological war waged by the occupation." The Gaza Health Ministry noted it was impossible to evacuate the wounded from hospitals, stating, "We have a duty and a humanitarian mission, and we cannot evacuate hospitals and leave the wounded and sick to die." Riyad al-Maliki, the Palestinian foreign minister, stated Israel sought to "bring to an end the Palestinian people's presence on what remains of its historical land." The Palestinian UN ambassador stated Israeli operations made it clear their goal was forced displacement. On 29 January, the Palestinian mission to the UN stated, "There is no place inhabitable in Gaza."

On 9 February 2024, Riyad Mansour stated, Israel is "saying they're not allowing them to go to the north. They don't want them to stay in Rafah – it doesn't require a nuclear physicist to come to the conclusion that there is only one place for them to go, which is the Sinai Peninsula". Speaking to ''Al Jazeera'', one Palestinian civilian was quoted saying, "We are not ready to leave our land. I was born here, many of my ancestors were born here, and I am not ready to give it up." In March 2024, Mariam Barghouti stated Palestinians were faced with a choice between suffering in Gaza or fleeing the territory, which was part of Israel's effort to depopulate Gaza.

International response

A spokesperson for the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated Israel was obstructing aid from the Rafah Crossing as part of a "systematic policy aimed at pushing the Palestinians to leave the strip under the weight of bombing and siege." Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry described the displacement of Palestinians in Gaza as a violation of international humanitarian law. On 4 November, Israel bombed the Jabalia refugee camp, leading ''Al Jazeera'' to remark Israel was "trying to eliminate all sources of survival for the civilian population to force the evacuation to the southern part of Gaza." Following an airstrike on Nuseirat refugee camp on 21 November, Egypt stated it believed the strike had "a clear objective, and that is to force Gaza's residents to leave the Strip." The Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi stated Israel's aim was "emptying Gaza of its population."

The Norwegian Refugee Council stated the UN Security Council had to prevent the forced displacement of civilians from the Gaza Strip. Abdullah Alswaha stated the Saudi government rejected Israeli displacement attempts.

Accusations of war crime

Israel's evacuation order was characterized as a forcible population transfer by Jan Egeland, the Norwegian former diplomat involved with the Oslo Accord. A "forcible transfer" is the forced relocation of a civilian population as part of an organized offense against it and is considered a crime against humanity by the International Criminal Court. In an interview with the BBC, Egeland stated, "There are hundreds of thousands of people fleeing for their life — hat isnot something that should be called an evacuation. It is a forcible transfer of people from all of northern Gaza, which according to the Geneva Convention is a war crime." UN Special rapporteur Francesca Albanese warned of a mass ethnic cleansing in Gaza. Raz Segal, an Israeli historian and director of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies program at Stockton University, termed it a "textbook case of genocide."

On 13 October 2023, a draft document prepared by Israel's Ministry of Intelligence proposed moving 2.3 million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. On 8 November, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated there should be "no forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza."

In March 2024, an investigation by Forensic Architecture found that Israel's evacuation orders had resulted in "displacement, fatalities, and genocidal acts", after they facilitated the evacuation of displaced civilians into active combat zones, and led to the redefinition of civilians unable to leave the evacuated zone into combatants.

Israeli humanitarian claims

The Israel Defense Forces stated the evacuation southward was for resident's safety in anticipation of an impending ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called on Palestinians to leave the northern part of Gaza, including Gaza City, saying: "The camouflage of the terrorists is the civil population. Therefore, we need to separate them. So those who want to save their life, please go south." The call for north Gaza residents to head south of the battle zone was characterized by a former Israeli officer as a "Humanitarian Exodus" to save as many lives as possible. On October 15, Israel's chief military spokesman accused Hamas of trying to use civilians as human shields and issued a new appeal to Gaza residents to move south of the battle zone.

An IDF officer told the ''New York Times'' that instead of the "roof knocking" policy, Israel is issuing mass evacuation orders and leaflets stating that "anyone who is near Hamas fighters will put their lives in danger." On 21 October 2023, the Israeli army dropped more leaflets in Gaza with the message: "Urgent warning! To the residents of Gaza: your presence to the North of Wadi Gaza is putting your lives at risk. Anyone who chooses not to evacuate from the North of the Gaza Strip to the South of the Gaza Strip may be identified as a partner in a terrorist organization."

The Jabalia refugee camp, which has been the target of Israeli strikes since 9 October 2023, was struck again on 31 October. IDF spokesman Richard Hecht accused Hamas of "hiding, as they do, behind civilians"; when CNN host Wolf Blitzer reminded him that there were many innocent civilians in the camp, Hecht replied, "This is the tragedy of war" and said civilians should move south.

See also

* Evacuations during the 2023 Israel–Hamas war
* 2023 Israeli ground operations in the Gaza Strip
* October 2023 Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip
* Evacuation in the Soviet Union
* Outline of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war

Notes

References

External links

*
How Israel pushed over a million Palestinians into a tiny corner of Gaza
(22 December 2023), per ''The Washington Post''
*
Nowhere safe in Gaza: How Israeli attacks have pushed more than 1.5 million people into Rafah
(4 March 2024), per Al Jazeera English

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Israel–Hamas war
2023 in the Gaza Strip
2024 in the Gaza Strip
Ethnic cleansing in Asia
Gaza Strip during the Israel–Hamas war
Society of the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
History of Palestine (region)
Evacuations
Society of the State of Palestine