‘Forced displacement’: Israel denies women, children and patients return to Gaza
The Palestine Chronicle reports on 15 July 2026:
Key Developments
- The Gaza Human Rights Center documented increasing cases of Palestinians barred from returning to Gaza.
- Women, children, patients and elderly Palestinians are among those prevented from returning.
- The organization said Israeli authorities issue unexplained ‘security’ refusals without any legal appeal process.
Israeli authorities are increasingly preventing Palestinians from returning to the Gaza Strip, including women, children, patients and elderly people, as part of a broader policy aimed at entrenching forced displacement and reshaping the enclave’s demographic reality, according to the Gaza Human Rights Center.
In a statement issued Wednesday, the organization said it had documented a growing number of cases in recent weeks in which Palestinians were denied permission to return to Gaza after completing all required travel procedures.
The center said Israeli authorities have increasingly relied on unexplained ‘security’ refusals, preventing Palestinians from re-entering their homeland despite obtaining the necessary travel registrations through the Palestinian Embassy in Cairo or authorized coordination companies.
Refusals without Appeal
According to the organization, Palestinians seeking to return to Gaza must first obtain Israeli security approval, a process that can take days or even weeks.
The rights center said the decisions are often issued without explanation and without providing any legal mechanism to challenge them. “The right to return home has effectively become a privilege granted—or denied—by the occupying power,” the statement said. The organization argued that the policy violates fundamental rights guaranteed under international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
Families Separated