Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor revealed in a statement yesterday that the IOF's targeting of thousands of displaced Palestinians in the previously designated "safe zone area" of al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis in Gaza, serves as further evidence of "Israel's" genocide and its forced displacement plan by making sure there is not any safe area for the people of Gaza. 

On October 13, 2023, Israeli occupation forces directed residents to al-Mawasi, a small agricultural area on the coasts of Khan Younis and Rafah, claiming that it was a "safe" place. They did the same thing again on November 2 and December 3 of the same year in subsequent displacement orders dropped by IOF tanks.

The Monitor also stated that the occupation has widened the scope of its aggression on Khan Younis as of the evening of January 21,  in which the IOF launched many intense air raids described as “fire belts” in parallel with its ground incursion further into the refugee camp.

IOF is targeting shelters

This was accompanied by an intense siege on the shelter centers "protecting" tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in the area in which they bombed five of these shelters. One of the latter was Al-Aqsa University where five were martyred, two of whom were women and another two were children. Another Palestinian was killed at University College, and a girl was also killed at Khalidiya School. Another school that was sought as shelter, al-Mawasi School, witnessed the perish of many displaced Palestinians, and a United Nations industrial building still has many others trapped inside.

The aforementioned was a direct result of the Israeli targeting of Palestinians as they evacuated their homes where some headed toward Rafah and others toward Deir al-Balah, the Monitor reported. 

At least 70 Palestinians, including women and children, were killed by the artillery shells fired by Israeli tanks and boats in al-Mawasi mainly, and many others were injured, of whom some were transferred to Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital, while others were moved to Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah and Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah.

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“A shell fire fell on us, which led to a fire outbreak inside the tent,” a woman who requested anonymity due to safety concerns told Euro-Med. She added that her daughter who was with her “was burned, along with my husband; we started running from the tent. I suffered from hand injuries and a finger fracture. I ran out with my daughter, who was also burned. I am in shock…I want to see my husband and my daughter."

After three Palestinian men attempted to evacuate 50 family members trapped inside a house, west of the Khan Younis, they raised white flags while trying to reach home when the IOF executed them, according to testimonies given to Euro-Med. 

IOF is also targeting hospitals

The Monitor stressed that the courtyard of Nasser Hospital currently holds a newly established mass grave burying 40 bodies as transferring them to an actual cemetery is impossible due to the heavy deployment of Israeli tanks.

As part of its ongoing attacks on hospitals in Gaza, the IOF stormed al-Khair Hospital, west of Khan Younis, and detained all of its medical staff, while imposing a complete siege on both Nasser Hospital and Al-Amal hospitals, according to the Monitor.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) has confirmed that the IOF targeted its Khan Younis headquarters with artillery shelling, injuring internally displaced people who sought shelter in the building. Earlier, the PRCS also confirmed that Israeli tanks had moved into the vicinity of Al-Amal Hospital and stressed that it lost full contact with its crews in Khan Younis due to "Israel’s" ongoing ground operation.

'Israel' violates principles of International Humanitarian Law

The occupation's deliberate attacks on the centers sheltering displaced Palestinians violate International Humanitarian Law, Euro-Med Monitor stressed. It is "Israel's" responsibility to ensure that these centers stay safe as they have already been identified as safe places.

The methods of carrying out these attacks violate "the principle of discrimination" and do not take into account "the standards of proportionality" and "military necessity", given the high number of victims—the majority of whom are women and children. These attacks then constitute violations and war crimes under International humanitarian law and criminal law, according to Euro-Med. 

"Israel" is determined to carry out forcible transfers of civilians from the Gaza Strip outside the frames of the law, as reported by Euro-Med Monitor. In addition, the silence of many in the international community allowed the occupation to designate people who did not comply with the evacuation order as “terrorists”, bomb houses and other city structures at random, and conduct field raids to push them out of their homes and land.

The "deliberate targeting of civilians" is forbidden by the rules of war, and "forcing civilians to flee their homes" is a serious violation that equates to a war crime and a crime against humanity, Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor emphasized.

Euro-Med Monitor urged the International Court of Justice to put an end to "Israel’s" genocide against the Palestinian people and to protect them from further dangerous and irreversible harm.