GAZA, (PIC)
Three Palestinian human rights organizations warned of the repercussions of Israel’s escalation of “forced displacement operations” against the residents of the Gaza Strip, raising concerns over a potential new Nakba for the Palestinians.
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights, Al Mezan Center, and Al-Haq Foundation for Human Rights said in a joint statement, “Israel persists in implementing its plan to displace the residents of the Gaza Strip out of its borders in the midst of the war it has been waging against the Strip since October 7.
The statement pointed out that the Israeli army issued new orders in recent hours forcing tens of thousands of residents in various areas of the Gaza Strip to leave their homes.
Israel published an interactive map dividing the Gaza Strip into areas and squares, each bearing a specific number, in a plan aimed at displacing Gazans from one square to another by issuing new warnings each time, the statement highlighted.
According to the three human rights groups, displacement orders have so far affected eight neighborhoods in Khan Younis, which were declared “warzones” and accordingly their residents were ordered to move towards Rafah.
Around 200,000 of civilians and dozens of thousands of the displaced people, who came from northern Gaza, dwell in these residential areas, the statement added.
A blue colored zone of the southern sites, which included Egyptian territory, was put on the interactive map under the name “Buffer zone between Sinai and the Gaza Strip”.
The human rights advocates opined that sharing the map aims at misleading the world with the idea that Israel has been notifying people in Gaza before shelling their places in the besieged enclave. However, amid cutting off of electricity and the communication blackout, people in Gaza cannot access the map to get informed about the zones they are located within.
The statement also highlighted the fact that Israel has been launching hundreds of airstrikes and shelling of residential buildings and civilian facilities out of the areas declared as warzones with no prior notice.
With approximately 1.9 million Palestinians already displaced, Israel persists in severely restricting supplies of food, water, electricity, fuel, and medicine.
The three human rights organizations reiterated that “there is no safe place across the Gaza Strip,” stressing that “Israeli evacuation orders to forcibly push hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to move towards Rafah and later to places close to the borders with Egypt has raised concerns over a new coming Nakba for the Palestinians.”
