The UN Human Rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory is horrified by the ongoing killing of hundreds of Palestinian civilians in Gaza since the resumption of large-scale Israeli bombardment on 18 March. As of 20 March, at least 506 Palestinians were killed, including 200 children and at least 112 women according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.
Airstrikes and artillery shelling have struck homes, schools serving as shelters, and tents of internally displaced people — a pattern extensively documented by the UN Human Rights Office since October of 2023. The Israeli military appear to have resumed the practice of using explosive weapons with wide-area effects in densely populated areas. Across Gaza, since 18 March, the UN Human Rights office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory recorded at least three incidents where more than twenty fatalities were reported, and at least eight incidents with more than ten fatalities. Using explosive weapons with wide- area effects in such densely populated areas will almost certainly have indiscriminate effects and is very likely to be in violation of international humanitarian law rules on the conduct of hostilities.
Conducting hostilities using such means and methods in densely populated areas causes civilian casualties at a mass scale and is not consistent with Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law, including abiding by the fundamental principles of distinction, proportionality, and precautions in attack.
On 20 March, Hamas’s military wing, Al Qassam Brigades, announced firing rockets on Tel Aviv. No casualties were reported. The targeting of civilians or launching of indiscriminate attacks amounts to a war crime.
Israel is again issuing forced displacement orders across Gaza and imposing severe movement restrictions. On 19 March, the Israeli military announced redeployment in Netzarim corridor which separates the north of Gaza from the south and prohibited Palestinians from moving through Salah Ad Deen road. The Israeli military ordered all Palestinians residing in areas located in the vicinity of the fence, described as “dangerous combat zones”, to leave to “known shelters” in western Gaza City and Khan Yunis.
The return of heavy bombardment and mass displacement orders indicates a resurgence of the pattern which has already forced 90 per cent of Palestinians in Gaza into displacement before the ceasefire, often more than once. The devastating impact of mass forced displacement will likely be exacerbated by Israel’s blocking of humanitarian aid, the already catastrophic shelter crisis in Gaza, and the lack of access to life- saving services.
Statements by the Israeli government further heighten fears about the deliberate flouting international law prohibitions and further collective punishment.