Gaza: Israel must rescind unlawful evacuation orders in the north
Israel issued so-called ‘evacuation’ orders to cities and camps across North Gaza governorate on 7, 10 and 12 October
400,000 civilians currently enduring a siege with little food, fuel or clean water
‘What remains beyond any comprehension is how the international community has let this horror continue to happen again and again’ - Heba Morayef
The Israeli authorities must rescind cruel and unlawful “evacuation” orders - Israel’s euphemism for forced displacement - issued during the past week to residents of the North Gaza governorate, and allow the immediate, unhindered entry of essential supplies - including food and fuel - to the area, said Amnesty International today, as fears grow for the fate of thousands of civilians trapped under siege.
In recent days, the civilian death toll across Gaza has continued to mount and horrifying scenes have emerged following deadly Israeli airstrikes, particularly in the North Gaza governorate. Civilians have endured relentless Israeli bombardment and shelling, without access to basic supplies, including food and clean water.
The latest Israeli “evacuation” orders issued to cities and camps across the North Gaza governorate on 7, 10 and 12 October - and the tightened siege on the area - are a terrifying escalation of the long list of horrors inflicted in the past year on people in the area north of Wadi Gaza.
A year ago, on 12 October 2023, an estimated 1.1 million Palestinians north of Wadi Gaza were subjected to an unlawful mass “evacuation” order which forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee south seeking safety. For many months, the hundreds of thousands of people who remained were largely cut off from the rest of Gaza by a fortified Israeli military zone. In December 2023, the world’s leading experts on famine reported that hunger was particularly widespread and severe there, yet the Israeli authorities repeatedly obstructed and denied humanitarian access to the area. In recent days the situation has grown even more desperate following Israeli tightened siege. All three partially-functioning hospitals in the north - Kamal Adwan, Al-Awda, and the Indonesian hospital - face “evacuation” orders.
Global leaders must demand an immediate ceasefire to alleviate unprecedented suffering in Gaza during the past year. Israel has been emboldened, with the help of arms transfers from countries like the US and the UK, to continue its destructive course in Gaza with total impunity.
Some 400,000 civilians continue to live north of Wadi Gaza, which consists of the North Gaza and Gaza governorates, which is around one-third of the area’s population before October 2023. In addition to devastating bombardment and destruction, those who have stayed have had to endure an Israeli-engineered food emergency which reached horrifying levels in February and March, with people resorting to eating animal food. While access to the area north of Wadi Gaza improved slightly in mid-2024 after an international outcry, Israel has, once again, cut civilians off from life-saving aid.
Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Director, said:
“These orders must be rescinded and there must be an immediate ceasefire by all parties to halt the avalanche of suffering that has been engulfing civilians in Gaza for over a year.
“After a year of death and destruction, it is agonising to hear from doctors in North Gaza that they have to perform multiple amputations every day, or from families trapped under siege that dozens of unrecognisable bodies are scattered on the streets or that people are unable to bury their loved ones amidst ceaseless bombardment.
“The scenes coming out of Jabalia refugee camp have been especially harrowing, for over a week, residents of the camp have been scared to leave their homes, even to look for a bag of flour for fear of being shot by the omnipresent quadcopter drones.
“What remains beyond any comprehension is how the international community has let this horror continue to happen again and again.
“As well as an immediate ceasefire and an end to Israel’s cruel and inhuman blockade on Gaza and its siege in the north, Israel must grant independent monitors immediate access to Gaza to investigate all attacks.”