Gaza: The Israeli government's plan to demolish what remains of Gaza's civilian infrastructure and concentrate the Palestinian population into a tiny area would amount to an abhorrent escalation of its ongoing crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and acts of genocide, Human Rights Watch said today.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, Federico Borello, interim executive director of Human Rights Watch, emphasized the severity of the situation by stating, "Hearing Israeli officials flaunt plans to squeeze Gaza's 2 million people into an even tinier area while making the rest of the land uninhabitable should be treated like a five-alarm fire in London, Brussels, Paris, and Washington." Borello further accused Israel's blockade of transcending military tactics to become a tool of extermination.
The United Nations has issued warnings about Gaza facing its worst humanitarian crisis since the beginning of hostilities. The Integrated Phase Classification (IPC), a leading authority on food insecurity, warned on May 12 of a 'high risk' of famine in Gaza in the coming weeks, with one in five people at risk of starvation.
On May 11, the World Health Organization highlighted that Gaza is experiencing 'one of the world's worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,' based on a Ministry of Health report indicating that at least 57 children have died from malnutrition in Gaza since the blockade began.
The Israeli government reports that 58 Israeli hostages are still believed to be held in Gaza, with 23 believed to be alive. Palestinian armed groups are urged to immediately and safely release all civilians they detain, while Israeli authorities are also called upon to release all unlawfully held Palestinians.
In early May, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet approved a plan known as 'Gideon's Chariots,' which could be implemented following US President Donald Trump's visit to the region on May 16. This plan involves forcibly displacing much of the Palestinian population of Gaza and seizing and occupying the territory.
Borello reminded the international community of their commitments under the Genocide Convention, stating, "States that are party to the Genocide Convention committed themselves not just to punish genocide, but also to prevent it from taking place. Failing to act to stop Israeli authorities from starving civilians in Gaza and further rendering it unlivable flies in the face of the very purpose of the convention."