“All states and relevant international institutions should act now and use all tools at their disposal – legal, diplomatic and economic – to prevent this.”
Israeli-based human rights NGOs, including B’Tselem, have called on the international community to take action to prevent Israel from forcibly transferring hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have remained in the Northern Gaza Strip, as part of the ‘General’s Plan’.
“There are alarming signs that the Israeli military is beginning to quietly implement the Generals’ Plan, also referred to as the Eiland Plan, which calls for complete forcible transfer of the civilians of the northern Gaza Strip through tightening the siege on the area and starving the population,” the NGOs said in a statement on Monday.
Israeli NGOs warn international community it will be complicit if Israel forcibly transfers the population of Northern Gaza
Human rights NGOs based in Israel today called on the international community to take action now to prevent Israel from forcibly transferring hundreds of… pic.twitter.com/hvLp6hIkeD
— B'Tselem בצלם بتسيلم (@btselem) October 14, 2024
‘They Will be Complicit’
The four groups – B’Tselem, Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement, Physicians for Human Rights Israel and Yesh Din Volunteers for Human Rights – reiterated that states “have an obligation to prevent the crimes of starvation and forcible transfer.”
“And if the continuation of the ‘wait and see’ approach will enable Israel to liquidate northern Gaza, they will be complicit,” the NGOs emphasized.
"'Treating those remaining in the north as combatants simply because of their presence there, and issuing open-ended evacuation orders, were both clear breaches of international law,' said Tania Hary, executive director of Gisha." https://t.co/WenD92JCQM
— Gisha גישה مسلك (@Gisha_Access) October 15, 2024
“All states and relevant international institutions should act now and use all tools at their disposal – legal, diplomatic and economic – to prevent this,” they added.
The Generals’ Plan is a proposal by retired Major General Giora Eiland in September, who suggested relocating nearly 300,000 remaining residents in northern Gaza, particularly from Gaza City, to the southern part of the enclave.
“In a week, the entire territory of the northern Gaza Strip will become military territory,” Eiland had reportedly said.
Those who did not leave would be cut off from food, water, medicines and other supplies.
‘400,000 Will Starve’
On Monday, the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor warned that 400,000 Palestinians will be starved to death if they are not killed by the Israeli forces’ relentless military operation in northern Gaza.
If Not Killed, 400,000 Palestinians Will Starve to Death – Euro-Med Monitor
The rights group said in a statement that Israel’s obstruction of aid entry to the north for the last several weeks, along with the massive military operation it is carrying out in the area, have not only placed Palestinians at high risk of being killed by bombardment but also at starving the population to death.
“Due to the ongoing Israeli siege, about 200,000 Palestinians in the northern Gaza governorate have been without food or drinking water for 10 full days now,” Euro-Med said.
Food Aid Blocked
According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), no food aid has entered northern Gaza since October 1, affecting thousands of families.
“The north is basically cut off and we’re not able to operate there,” Antoine Renard, WFP Country Director for Palestine said.
No Food Aid has Entered North Gaza This Month – World Food Programme
WFP said food distribution points, as well as kitchens and bakeries in North Gaza, have been forced to shut down due to Israeli airstrikes, military ground operations and evacuation orders.
Over 42,000 Killed
Israel continues to defy a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire and has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.
Inferno in Deir Al-Balah – Israel Burns Displaced Palestinians Alive at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital
Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 42,289 Palestinians have, to date, been killed, and 98,684 wounded. Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.
Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.
Millions Displaced
Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.
The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.
Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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