Human Rights Watch accuses Israel of war crimes over Gaza displacements

Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Israeli authorities of causing a forced displacement of Palestinian people in Gaza to an extent that constitutes war crimes and crimes against humanity in a report released Thursday.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military or foreign ministry, but Israeli authorities have previously rejected such accusations and say their forces operate in compliance with international law.

HRW interviewed 39 displaced Palestinians and analyzed 184 Israeli evacuation orders as well as satellite imagery, videos, and photographs in order to compile the report, the organization said.

Over 90% of the population of Gaza, 1.9 million Palestinians, have been displaced, and destruction in the strip is widespread, according to the report.

HRW accused Israel of widespread "forced displacement," calling this "systematic and part of a state policy."

The law of armed conflict forbids the forcible displacement of civilian populations from occupied territory unless necessary for the security of civilians or imperative military reasons.

Israel invaded the Gaza Strip after Hamas terrorists attacked communities in southern Israel last year, killing around 1,200 people and abducting over 251 hostages. Hamas-run Gaza health authorities say that the Israeli military campaign has killed more than 43,500 people and destroyed much of the enclave's infrastructure.

IDF operating primarily in northern Gaza

For the past month, Israeli troops have moved tens of thousands of people from areas in the north of the enclave as they have sought to destroy Hamas forces the military says have been reforming around the towns of Jabalya, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun.

While HRW accused Israel of intending for the displacement of Palestinians to be permanent " in the buffer zones and security corridors," The IDF has denied seeking to create permanent buffer zones.

Additionally, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar said on Monday that Palestinians displaced from their homes in northern Gaza would be allowed to return at the end of the war.

In a statement on Thursday, the IDF called the HRW report part of a "persistent pattern of blatant anti-Israel bias and distortion of facts" and said that it "selectively presents data without full context, including significant distortions of facts and reality."

The IDF claimed that the report relied on Hamas-controlled sources and that statements from government and IDF officials were taken out of context.

"This report is flawed and misleading, portraying the IDF's extensive efforts to minimize civilian harm as deliberate attempts to displace civilians," the statement reads.  "It ignores the unprecedented and comprehensive measures taken within the context of urban warfare and the complex operational environment in which these efforts are conducted."

The statement asserted that the IDF only conducts operations "in areas known for military presence" and noted that it assisted civilians in moving westward to Gaza City and has facilitated movement through the Salah al-Din route during a recent round of fighting in the northern Gaza Strip.