Gaza ‘safe zones’ led to displacement, Israeli attacks on civilians: Report
Palestinians shelter at a temporary tent camp for those displaced from their homes by Israel’s evacuation orders and airstrikes, Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip,19 October 2023
Al Jazeera reports on 13 March 2024
A report published by the research group Forensic Architecture has called into question Israel’s argument at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that it had introduced measures to safeguard civilian life in Gaza.
The supposed measures have been part of Israel’s defence against charges of genocide levelled against it by South Africa at the ICJ for its conduct during its war on Gaza.
Forensic Architecture, which is based at London’s Goldsmith’s University, also suggested in its report, published on Wednesday, that what Israel characterises as humanitarian evacuations of Gaza residents may amount to their forced displacement, itself a war crime.
The research group has previously won recognition for its multi-disciplinary open-source research on conflict and state violence. It has presented evidence to the United Nations Security Council, the International Criminal Court and the European Court of Human Rights, among others.
Genocide defence
In its defence against charges of genocide at the ICJ on January 12, Israel cited the existence of its Civilian Harm Mitigation Unit as evidence of the efforts its military made to avoid civilian casualties.
Among other items, lawyers representing Israel pointed to the efforts of the Unit to provide advance notice to civilians in targeted areas, including leafleting, radio broadcasts, and telephone calls, as well as providing maps detailing corridors to places it designated as safe.
Israel’s claims, as well as gaining significant traction in the international media, have also been a mainstay of its justification for its continued military campaign against Gaza.
But according to the study, Israel’s “evacuation orders” have “produced mass displacement and forced transfer, and contributed to the killings of civilians throughout Gaza”.