Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“The increasing issuance by Israeli Forces of “evacuation orders” – which are, in effect, displacement orders – have resulted in the forcible transfer of Palestinians in Gaza into ever shrinking spaces where they have little or no access to life-saving services, including water, food and shelter, and where they continue to be subject to attacks,” said Ravina Shamdansani, UN Human Rights Office spokesperson.
“While Israel, as an occupying power, can lawfully order the temporary evacuations of civilians in certain areas under strict conditions, the nature and scope of the evacuation orders raise serious concerns that Israel intends permanently to remove the civilian population from these areas in order to create a “buffer zone”. Permanently displacing the civilian population within occupied territory amounts to forcible transfer, a grave breach of the Fourth Geneva Convention and a crime against humanity,” she told reporters at the UN bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
“Meanwhile, Israeli military strikes continue across Gaza, leaving nowhere safe. Between 18 March and 9 April 2025, there were some 224 incidents of Israeli strikes on residential buildings and tents for internally displaced people (IDPs). In some 36 strikes about which we were able to corroborated information, the fatalities recorded so far were only women and children so far,” she said.
Overall, a large percentage of fatalities are children and women, according to information recorded by our UN Human Rights office. A recent strike on the residential building of the Abu Issa family in Deir al Balah on 6 April reportedly killed one girl, four women, and one four-year-old boy.
“Compounding this alarming trend is the targeting and killing of the Palestinian journalists.Since October 2023, over 209 journalists have been killed in Gaza, while Israel continues to deny access to international media,” Shamdasani said.
The attack reportedly came without warning, killing one journalist and one press agency assistant, and wounding nine other journalists, including one who later died from his injuries. The Israeli military subsequently claimed that one of those injured was a Hamas member, but it remains unclear whether this individual had been identified and targeted as a member of the armed wing of Hamas, or otherwise. Since October 2023, over 209 journalists have been killed in Gaza, while Israel continues to deny access to international media.
“These and other attacks raise serious questions about Israeli Forces’ compliance with international humanitarian law, particularly with the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution in attack. Intentionally directing attacks against civilians not taking a direct part in hostilities constitutes a war crime,” Shamdasani said.
“Further compounding the desperate conditions for Palestinian civilians, Israel’s closure of crossings into the Gaza Strip has entered its sixth week, preventing the entry of food, safe drinking water, medicines and other essential aid or supplies,” the spokesperson said.
Israeli officials have made statements suggesting that the entry of humanitarian aid is directly linked to the release of hostages, raising serious concerns about collective punishment and the use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of war, both of which constitute crimes under international law.
“In light of the cumulative impact of Israeli Forces’ conduct in Gaza, the Office is seriously concerned that Israel appears to be inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life increasingly incompatible with their continued existence as a group in Gaza,” Shamdasani said.
“Protests by Palestinians against Hamas, in exercise of their rights to peaceful assembly and expression under international law, have also been repressed by force, with harsh retribution exacted against a number of individuals,” she added. “The despair of Palestinians, under assault from outside as well as such pressure within, knows no bounds.”
“The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has stressed, including before the UN Security Council last week, that the last 18 months of violence have made this abundantly clear: There is no military path out of this crisis,” the spokesperson said.
Shamdasani also said the only way forward is a political settlement, based on two states living side by side in equal dignity and rights, in line with UN resolutions and international law. “All hostages must be released immediately and unconditionally. All those arbitrarily detained must also be released.”
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact:
Ravina Shamdasani: + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Thameen Al-Kheetan: +41 22 917 4232 / thameen.alkheetan@un.org
Tag and share
Twitter @UNHumanRights
Facebook unitednationshumanrights
Instagram @unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on the increasing issuance by Israeli Forces of “evacuation orders” in Gaza
TRT: 03:19
SOURCE: UNTV /OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 11 April 2025 – GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
1
1
1
Edited News
Syria prison survivor seeks justice for the missing with UN backing.
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday warned that three and a half years after Russia’s full-scale invasion, the war in Ukraine has entered an even more dangerous and deadly stage for Ukrainian civilians, under relentless bombardment of their schools, hospitals, and shelters.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF , WHO , ICRC
Quadcopter victims, terror and death: 30 minutes in a Gaza hospital
UN aid teams on Friday highlighted the disturbing situation in Gaza’s makeshift hospitals, where premature babies cry for scant oxygen and medics attempt to save child survivors targeted by airstrikes in their tents and quadcopter victims reportedly shot while fetching bread.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday delivered his oral update to the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session on the human rights situation in Haiti.
The High Commissioner welcomed Wednesday’s decision of the UN Security Council to strengthen the Multinational Security Support mission by transitioning to the Gang Suppression Force for Haiti, stating it is a strong signal of international support for the Haitian people.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF
Gaza: As world waits for US peace plan news, UN aid teams stress need for ceasefire
UN agencies reiterated calls for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza on Tuesday to help alleviate Palestinian suffering, as a new US 20-point plan raised hopes of a halt to the fighting.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
The ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza City continues to overwhelm the war-torn enclave’s medical professionals, with four more hospitals forced to shut down this month alone, the UN World Health Organization said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
A UN Human Rights report released today details the dire situation of thousands of civilians detained since Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine in 2022.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF
Sudan war: Life-saving cholera vaccination campaign begins in Darfur
Amid the devastating war in Sudan, UN aid teams are overcoming major obstacles to curb a cholera outbreak claiming lives across the country, with young children particularly at risk.
2
1
2
Edited News , B-roll | UN WOMEN
Women and girls still reeling from Afghanistan's recent deadly earthquake face even greater suffering rebuilding their lives and livelihoods without much more help from the international community, UN Women said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Rising civilian casualties, growing ethnic violence and the grim humanitarian situation in Sudan underscore how the crisis there is deepening, according to a UN Human rights report published today.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNITED NATIONS
United Nations agencies staff demonstrates on Place des Nations in Geneva to denounce the killing of their colleagues in Gaza.
1
1
1
Edited News | WMO
The world’s water resources face growing pressure from climate change while emergencies related to the vital resource are increasingly impacting lives and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.