The United Nations said Israel may be in violation of international law over its recent evacuation order to civilians living in northern Gaza.
“We are concerned that this order combined with the imposition of a ‘complete siege’ on Gaza may not be considered as lawful temporary evacuation and would therefore amount to a forcible transfer of civilians – in breach of international law,” Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the U.N. human rights office, said in a statement.
Last week, the Israeli military gave more than 1 million Gazan civilians evacuation orders ahead of its expected ground invasion, which comes after the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas terrorists.
The UN called on Israel to provide for the Gazans who fled their homes.
“So far, around 400,000 IDPs are sheltered in various locations, several in UNRWA buildings. International law requires that any lawful temporary evacuation by Israel, as the occupying power, of an area on the basis of the security of the population or imperative military reasons must be accompanied by the provision of proper accommodation for all evacuees, undertaken under satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety and nutrition. There appears to have been no attempt by Israel to ensure this for the 1.1 million civilians ordered to move.”
There was no mention, however, of Egypt's president telling Gazans they "must stay steadfast and remain on their land," or Jordan's refusal to take refugees, or Hamas preventing Gazan civilians from fleeing.
President Biden is set to visit Israel on Wednesday, a trip that was only officially announced after Washington "received commitments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a humanitarian package," according to The Washington Post, "including getting aid into Gaza and creating safe zones for Palestinian civilians."
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