Ravina Shamdasani, the spokesperson for the U.N. human rights office, conveyed during a Geneva press briefing that israel appeared to make no efforts to ensure the temporary evacuees from Gaza were provided with adequate accommodation and satisfactory conditions of hygiene, health, safety, and nutrition.
"We are concerned that this order, combined with the imposition of a complete siege of Gaza, may not be considered as lawful temporary evacuation and would therefore amount to a forcible transfer of civilians in breach of international law," she stated.
Shamdasani highlighted the predicament of those who complied with the evacuation order, stating: "Those who managed to comply with the Israeli authorities' order to evacuate are now trapped in the south of the Gaza Strip, with scant shelter, fast-depleting food supplies, little or no access to clean water, sanitation, medicine, and other basic needs."
The term "forcible transfer" refers to the forced relocation of civilian populations, constituting a crime against humanity punishable by the International Criminal Court (ICC). (ILKHA)