Israel’s latest evacuation order, calling for a quarter of a million people to leave Eastern Khan Younis, violates the Geneva Convention and is in breach of multiple provisions of International Humanitarian Law, because it has failed to provide safe passage, or a safe final destination where basic humanitarian needs can be met, Oxfam said today. 

Oxfam says the so-called ‘humanitarian zone’, where people have been ordered to go, is one of the most densely populated displacement areas in the world, with a dire lack of sufficient food, water, medical services, or shelter. Ongoing military assaults have created an incredibly unsafe environment for aid organisations, meaning barely any assistance is reaching those in need. There have also been regular attacks resulting in civilian deaths despite the promise that the area was ‘safe’. 

Oxfam staff sheltering in the so-called ‘safe zone’ said there had been an increase in shelling in recent days and that people were living in medieval conditions, camping in the streets, with no hygiene products and rapidly-spreading disease. 

Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East Director, said: “Pushing hundreds of thousands more people into what is essentially a death trap, devoid of any facilities, is barbaric and a breach of International Humanitarian Law.

“Yet again, we are seeing vast numbers of people being forced to flee under Israeli military orders, with no heed for their safety or dignity.

“The areas Israel has defined as ‘humanitarian’ and ‘safe’ are, in reality, the polar opposite, leaving families with the horrific choice between staying in an active combat zone or moving somewhere that is already desperately overcrowded, dangerous and unfit for human existence.”

The latest evacuation order is one of the largest forced mass displacements of people since the escalation of hostilities in Gaza began. Orders have been given with very little notice or information for those being told to flee. Just last week, Israeli forces ordered the evacuation of the Shuja’iya neighbourhood in Gaza City, forcibly displacing at least 60,000 people. Oxfam was told that people had to run with whatever they could carry, including women having to grab bread from their makeshift clay ovens, as Israeli tanks rolled in.

Despite the frequency of evacuation orders, and the huge numbers of people being told to move, Oxfam said none of the declared safe routes in Gaza are actually safe. Israel’s military has also systematically attacked civilians and aid workers, including in those clearly marked ‘safe zones’ and ‘evacuation routes’. Israel has repeatedly failed to comply with international law, which compels it to take all possible measures to ensure satisfactory conditions of shelter, hygiene, health, safety and nutrition, and that family members are not separated. 

Oxfam is calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, so that life-saving aid can get to all of those in need, and to ensure the safe release of all hostages and unlawfully detained Palestinians. 

Sally Abi Khalil said: “The human cost of the military offensive in Gaza is unacceptable and we call on all parties to push for an immediate and lasting ceasefire, in order to end the bloodshed and suffering.”