Rafah evacuation orders ‘inhumane’, could amount to war crime: UN human rights chief
New York: UN human rights chief Volker Turk warned on Monday that Israel’s order to Palestinians to evacuate parts of Rafah ahead of the new offensive will only increase civilian deaths and suffering beyond “already unbearable levels”. .
He said such actions could constitute war crimes, and regretted that months of “relentless attacks” on the enclave by Israel had destroyed the infrastructure and infrastructure to host the mass displacement of more than 1.2 million Palestinians. There is no place left except Rafah with resources.
Taking refuge in tents and overcrowded schools in Rafah, they are now being directed to move to al-Mawasi, an area that is already overcrowded and lacking essential services.
The Turks said Israeli orders to relocate Palestinians are “inhumane” and could expose them to further danger and suffering. “Such actions may sometimes amount to war crimes,” he said.
“Gazaans continue to be affected by bombs, diseases and even famine. And today, they have been told they have to move again because the Israeli military operation in Rafah is increasing,” Turk said. “This is inhumane.”
The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Monday that mass evacuations on this scale are “impossible to do safely.”
OCHA said the area of Rafah under evacuation orders is more than 30 square km. There are nine places providing shelter to displaced people in the area. It is also home to three clinics and six warehouses.
As of today, more than three-quarters of the Gaza Strip is under evacuation orders.
OCHA said any full-scale incursion into Rafah would push displaced Palestinians “beyond their breaking point” and paralyze the already very fragile humanitarian operation there.
It added: “The United Nations is not participating in involuntary evacuations or the establishment of any displacement zone in southern Gaza.”
According to UNICEF, half of the more than 1.2 million people seeking shelter in Rafah are children.
In a statement on Monday, the agency called for the children not to be forcibly transferred, saying there was nowhere safe for them to go.
UNICEF said potential evacuation corridors were likely to be mined or littered with unexploded ordnance, and shelter and services in areas for resettlement were likely to be limited.
Turki stressed that international humanitarian law prohibits ordering the displacement of civilians for conflict-related reasons, unless the protection of civilians involved or “compelling military reasons demand it,” and even then strictly Subject to legal requirements.
“Failure to meet these obligations could constitute forced displacement, which is a war crime,” the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement.
“Forcibly relocating thousands of people from Rafah to areas that have already been leveled and where there is little shelter and almost no access to the humanitarian assistance necessary for their survival is beyond comprehension. “This will expose them to greater danger and suffering.”
On Monday, Israel launched airstrikes on Rafah, killing at least 26 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Also on Monday, two crossings in Rafah were closed, completely disrupting the already low flow of humanitarian aid.
“More attacks on what is now the primary humanitarian center in the Gaza Strip are not the answer,” Turki said.
“The lessons of the past seven months of conflict in Gaza are clear – more than 70 percent of the more than 120,000 people killed, injured and missing are women and children. “Enough killing.”
The Turks reiterated the urgent need for a ceasefire and the uninterrupted flow of large-scale humanitarian aid into Gaza.
He also called for the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinians arbitrarily detained by Israel.