Israel's 'Evacuation Orders' Leads to Displacement, Attack Against Palestinians in Gaza: Report
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14 March 2024 19:53 WIB
‘Cartographic Terror’
Poor mapping, referred to within the report as “cartographic terror”, has also served to sow confusion and panic among Gaza’s displaced due to incorrect and vague instructions.
Forensic Architecture said that information provided by Israel to Palestinians in Gaza has been confusing, “resulting in cases of targeting and military bombardment of routes and zones designated as ‘safe’ by the Israeli military”.
Among the examples detailed are the January attacks on Khan Younis, Rafah, and al-Mawasi, all of which had previously been deemed safe. The attacks resulted in numerous casualties, including children.
Absence of Facilities
Under international law, civilians evacuated from conflict zones must be provided with appropriate care during their displacement, with humanitarian chiefs noting in November that any safe zone must have “the essentials for survival, including food, water, shelter, hygiene, health assistance, and safety”.
However, the study said that since the conflict escalated on October 7, Israel has failed to protect the displaced population, depriving “them of access to adequate food and water, humanitarian assistance, fuel, shelter, clothes, hygiene, sanitation, and medical care”.
In other instances, large numbers of civilians were “knowingly” directed to areas that had been subjected to an evacuation order less than 24 hours previously and had since become unlivable.
Status
Concerns were also raised about the arbitrary manner in which the Israeli military chose to redefine the status of civilians who were unable to leave the locations specified by the army’s evacuation orders.
One leaflet cited within the report warned civilians that “whoever chooses not to leave north Gaza to the south of Wadi Gaza [the stream bisecting the strip] might be identified as an accomplice in a terrorist organization”, an injunction the authors note was in place throughout the campaign and effectively served to redefine Palestinian civilians unable to evacuate the region as potential combatants.
AL JAZEERA
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