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Israel accused of crimes against humanity over forced displacement in Gaza
Peter Beaumont
Israel is using evacuation orders to pursue the “deliberate and massive forced displacement” of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, according to a report by Human Rights Watch, which says the policy amounts to crimes against humanity.
The US-based group added it had collected evidence that suggested “the war crime of forcible transfer [of the civilian population]”, describing it as “a grave breach of the Geneva conventions and a crime under the Rome statute of the international criminal court”.
The report was published amid mounting evidence that Israel is accelerating its efforts to cut the Gaza Strip in two with a buffer zone and is building new infrastructure to support a prolonged military presence, with an increased pace of demolitions and destruction.
Residents in northern Gaza said Israeli forces were besieging displaced families and the remaining population, which some estimated at a few thousand, ordering them to head south through a checkpoint separating two towns and a refugee camp from Gaza City.
Men were held for questioning, while women and children were allowed to continue towards Gaza City, residents and Palestinian medics said.
Calling for Israel’s policy of forced displacement to be investigated by the international criminal court, Human Rights Watch also urged targeted sanctions against Israel including the cessation of arms sales.
Read more here: Israel accused of crimes against humanity over forced displacement in Gaza
Key events
Israel’s military has reported warning sirens sounding again in northern Israel.
Overnight the IDF announced that six soldiers had been killed in clashes with Hezbollah inside southern Lebanon.
The Times of Israel reports “it was one of the heaviest single-day losses in the operation that began in late September,” and that “according to an initial IDF probe, the soldiers were killed in an exchange of fire with at least four Hezbollah operatives inside a building in a village in southern Lebanon.”
Lebanese authorities have put the death toll in the country since Israel stepped up its airstrikes at over 3,000 people, with more than 14,000 people wounded. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
Peter Beaumont
According to a report yesterday in the leftwing Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Israeli forces in Gaza are clearing large areas with the apparent intention to remain inside the territory until at least the end of 2025.
The newspaper reported that a “combat graph for 2025” distributed in recent weeks to Israeli soldiers and commanders in Gaza describes “exposing large areas” in the coastal strip: destroying existing buildings and infrastructure in addition to the construction of roads and preparations for building more permanent military facilities.
Overnight the Washington Post has suggested that Israel is working to time any ceasefire deal with Lebanon so that it appears as a “gift” to incoming US president Donald Trump when he takes office.
The report says an Isreali official told the paper “There is an understanding that Israel would gift something to Trump … that in January there will be an understanding about Lebanon.”
There have been contradictory noises from Israeli ministers about the prospects for a settlement on Israel’s northern front in recent days. Foreign minister Gideon Saar said “certain progress” had been made on a deal, but defense minister Israel Katz said there would be “no ceasefire” and “no respite” in Lebanon, and that Israel “will not take our foot off the pedal” in its fight against Hezbollah.
At least one member of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has said they will collapse the coalition if a peace deal was signed with Hezbollah. Hezbollah has said it has had no direct participation in talks.
Reuters has a quick snap, citing local medics, that three people have been killed by an Israeli strike on Gaza City, with ten others wounded.
More details soon …
Lebanon’s National News Agency reports an Israeli strike on Nabatieh in the south of the country.
Here are some of the latest pictures sent over the newswires from Beirut in Lebanon, which has again been the target of Israeli strikes.
Israel’s military has issued a further set of orders for people in the southern suburbs of Beirut to evacuate. Lebanese media reports there have been at least three strikes on the Choueifat area, which is a suburb in the south-east of Lebanon’s capital, close to the international airport.
More details soon …
Israel claims to have killed ‘over 200’ Hezbollah operatives in past week
In operational updates posted to its official Telegram channel, Israel has claimed that in the past week it has killed “over 200” Hezbollah operatives and destroyed 140 rocket launchers in its attacks on southern Lebanon.
Authorities in Lebanon have put the death toll from recent Israeli strikes at over 3,000, with more than 14,000 people injured. It has not been possible for journalists to independently verify the casualty figures being issued during the conflict.
It its statement, the IDF said of its attacks on Lebanon “These strikes further degrade Hezbollah’s capability to carry out terror attacks from southern Lebanon against Israeli civilians on the northern border. The IDF will continue to operate to thwart any danger or threat against the State of Israel.”
Tens of thousands of Israelis have been forced to flee their homes in the north of the country, and Benjamin Netanyahu has set their safe return as one of Israel’s war aims.
Israel’s military also states that it continues to operate in the Beit Lahia and Jabaliya areas of the Gaza Strip where, it says, “troops located a large amount of weapons and eliminated dozens of terrorists from the air and ground.”
The claims have not been independently verified.
Israel accused of crimes against humanity over forced displacement in Gaza
Peter Beaumont
Israel is using evacuation orders to pursue the “deliberate and massive forced displacement” of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, according to a report by Human Rights Watch, which says the policy amounts to crimes against humanity.
The US-based group added it had collected evidence that suggested “the war crime of forcible transfer [of the civilian population]”, describing it as “a grave breach of the Geneva conventions and a crime under the Rome statute of the international criminal court”.
The report was published amid mounting evidence that Israel is accelerating its efforts to cut the Gaza Strip in two with a buffer zone and is building new infrastructure to support a prolonged military presence, with an increased pace of demolitions and destruction.
Residents in northern Gaza said Israeli forces were besieging displaced families and the remaining population, which some estimated at a few thousand, ordering them to head south through a checkpoint separating two towns and a refugee camp from Gaza City.
Men were held for questioning, while women and children were allowed to continue towards Gaza City, residents and Palestinian medics said.
Calling for Israel’s policy of forced displacement to be investigated by the international criminal court, Human Rights Watch also urged targeted sanctions against Israel including the cessation of arms sales.
Read more here: Israel accused of crimes against humanity over forced displacement in Gaza
Welcome and opening summary …
Welcome to the Guardian’s ongoing coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. Here are the headlines …
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Israel’s military has claimed that in the last week it has killed “over 200” Hezbollah members and dismantled 140 rocket launchers in southern Lebanon. The claims have not been independently verified
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Human Rights Watch said in a report released Thursday that Israel’s repeated evacuation orders in Gaza amount to the “war crime of forcible transfer”, and to “ethnic cleansing” in parts of the Palestinian territory
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International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi met Iran’s top diplomat Thursday during a visit to Tehran. Later, Grossi is expected to meet president Masoud Pezeshkian in their first meeting since his election earlier this year, and to hold a press conference
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Australia has backed a UN resolution to recognise the “permanent sovereignty” of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, marking a major departure from its previous position
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Ice-cream brand Ben & Jerry’s said in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that parent company Unilever has silenced its attempts to express support for Palestinian refugees