The United Nations warned on Friday that the cumulative effects of Israel’s actions in Gaza posed a significant threat to the future viability of Palestinians as a group in the region.
UN rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani pointed to the “death, destruction, displacement, the denial of access to basic necessities within Gaza, and the repeated suggestion that Gazans should leave the territory entirely” as key factors contributing to growing concerns about the future of Palestinians in Gaza.
Shamdasani described the situation as raising real concerns as to the future viability of Palestinians as a group in Gaza, highlighting the increasing severity of the crisis. “The cumulative effect of what is happening in Gaza today takes our concerns to a new level,” she said.
Particular attention was drawn to the devastating impact of Israel’s ongoing airstrikes on civilians, with Shamdasani noting that a large percentage of fatalities are children and women. She confirmed that between March 18 and April 9, Israel had launched around 224 strikes targeting residential buildings and tents housing displaced people.
“In some 36 strikes that the UN Human Rights Office has corroborated information on, the fatalities recorded so far were only women and children,” she stated, citing an April 6 strike on a residential building in Deir el-Balah, which killed one girl, four women, and a four-year-old boy.
Shamdasani also noted that areas designated by Israel as “safe zones” for Palestinians to evacuate to were also being subjected to attacks, leaving “nowhere safe” for civilians.
One example she gave was the Israeli army’s order for civilians to relocate to the Al Mawasi area in the southern city of Khan Yunis. Despite this directive, airstrikes continued to target tents in that area, with at least 23 incidents recorded by the UN Human Rights Office since March 18.
In addition, Shamdasani referred to a March 31 order from the Israeli military covering all of Rafah, Gaza’s southernmost governorate, which was followed by a large-scale ground operation.
Israel’s Defence Minister, Israel Katz, said that Israeli troops were seizing large areas in Gaza and incorporating them into buffer zones, effectively reducing Gaza’s size and isolating the population further.
Shamdasani condemned these actions, saying: “These so-called evacuation orders are actually displacement orders, leading to the displacement of Gaza’s population into ever-shrinking spaces.”
She added, “Permanently displacing the civilian population within occupied territories amounts to forcible transfer… and it is a crime against humanity.”
