War on Gaza: Israel is ‘erasing northern Gaza’, aid groups warn

Dozens of NGOs accuse the Israeli army of forcibly displacing, starving and exterminating 400,000 Palestinians under the guise of ‘evacuation orders’

By Sondos Asem

Published date: 16 October 2024

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-erasing-northern-gaza-aid-groups-warn

Dozens of aid groups have warned that “northern Gaza is being wiped off the map” by Israeli forces amid an ongoing campaign to ethnically cleanse the area of its Palestinian population.

Israel has ordered the remaining 400,000 Palestinians in the north to leave and imposed a renewed siege on civilians until they comply. 

On 6 October, Israel launched a major offensive on northern Gaza and ordered residents to flee south.

Israeli officers and analysts have suggested that the military is implementing a controversial plan, known as "the Generals' Plan", to ethnically cleanse northern Gaza or otherwise starve and kill those who remain behind.

This is despite Israel's claims that Hamas has already been defeated in the north.

Since the start of the operation, Israeli troops have killed at least 350 Palestinians, including 65 in the past 24 hours, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

A statement signed by 38 aid groups accuses the Israeli army of carrying out forced displacement under the guise of “evacuation” orders.

Organisations, including ActionAid, Action For Humanity, Oxfam, Medical Aid for Palestinians (Map), , Islamic Relief, Christian Aid and other British and international charities, warned against actions that exacerbate Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories.

The aid groups said Israel has largely ignored several legally binding orders from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to halt or prevent actions against Palestinians that may amount to genocide.

These actions include “killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part and imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group”. 

“There is no evidence that Israel has adhered to these orders, and the killing of Palestinians has only intensified,” the statement read, adding: “Civilians are being starved and bombed in their homes and their tents."

In July, the ICJ confirmed the illegality of Israel's occupation and annexation of Palestinian lands following the 1967 conflict.

“Any attempt to alter the territorial integrity of Gaza constitutes a blatant violation of international law,” they added.

The World Food Programme (WFP) announced last week that food security in northern Gaza is at risk, as no food aid has entered the area since 1 October.

Three hospitals, already overwhelmed by the conflict, are affected by ongoing military operations in the north.

On Wednesday, doctors at the Kamal Adwan, al-Awda and Indonesian hospitals announced their refusal to leave patients.

Mohammed Salha, acting director of al-Awda Hospital in northern Gaza, said: “The Israeli military has contacted us more than once to evacuate the hospital.

"The departments are full of wounded people and we are discharging even the wounded who have minor or moderate injuries because we do not have beds for them.

"I [told the Israeli military] clearly that we would not evacuate the hospital unless there are ambulances that can preserve the lives of the wounded people we have and reach another hospital that provides better service to the wounded.” 

Starvation as a weapon of war

Meanwhile, the London-based International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) said on Monday that Israel’s operation in northern Gaza may amount to the war crime of using starvation as a weapon of war.

As the International Criminal Court (ICC) considers issuing arrest warrants for Israel’s prime minister and defence minister, the ICJP said that Israel's actions could constitute a breach of Article 6 of the Rome Statute.

The ICJP explained that the section stipulates: "Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part’ constitutes genocide.

"Article 7(1)(b) on the crime against humanity of extermination prohibits ‘inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the destruction of part of a population’, including ‘the deprivation of access to food and medicine’.

"This is a total siege against Palestinian civilians. It is collective punishment on a coordinated scale that can only be described as systematic extermination and genocide of the Palestinian people,” the ICJP added.

On Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry reported that Israeli forces have killed at least 42,409 Palestinians since 7 October 2023.

Over 60 percent of the victims are women and children, according to the official death toll, which has been recognised by the UN and international aid groups as credible. 

More than 99,153 have been wounded during the same period and at least 10,000 remain missing, likely buried under rubble.

"It is crucial for nations and institutions such as the ICC and the ICJ to take decisive action to halt this escalating brutality," Zaki Sarraf, a legal officer for the ICJP, told Middle East Eye.

"Israel’s vicious genocidal military action must be stopped, and empty rhetoric and unfulfilled promises regarding red lines and international law won't do anything to stop it."