Forced displacement in Gaza persists, Palestinian UN envoy says

Israel's forced displacement of Palestinians is occurring repeatedly throughout the Gaza Strip, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian Permanent Observer to the UN, stated on Friday.

Appealing to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya, the current president of the Security Council, and General Assembly President Dennis Francis, Mansour submitted an urgent plea for swift action to be taken, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa. 

In his letter of appeal, the UN official highlighted the ongoing forced displacements occurring throughout the Gaza Strip due to Israeli military actions. 

"Inhumane, illegal, repeated forced displacement of civilians is happening all across Gaza, causing constant turmoil and trauma, especially to children and other vulnerable civilians, including the sick, wounded and disabled," he states in the letter.

He mentioned that northern Gaza is once again being evacuated after residents were first forced to leave in October. 

Mansour reiterated his demand for the international community to "stop Israel’s slaughter and torment of the Palestinian people and to ensure their protection in respect of international law and the binding Provisional Measures Orders of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)." 

"There is nowhere for the people to go, nowhere that they will be safe. Israel has destroyed the majority of Gaza and whatever is left standing it considers to be a legitimate target as it persists with its systematic, grave breaches of international law, shredding international humanitarian law and human rights law and all protections for civilians," he said. 

Mansour described how even "humanitarian zones and UN shelters are turned by Israel into killing zones." 

Aid workers killed

On Friday, four aid workers affiliated with UK organisation Al Khair Foundation were killed after an Israeli strike targeted a distribution point where they were preparing to distribute aid in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis. 

"A ceasefire must be implemented without any further delay," Mansour stressed. 

The appeal comes amid intensified Israeli ground operations in Gaza, which have led to repeated evacuations and severe humanitarian consequences, according to Mansour. 

As brutal Israeli ground and air attacks continue, military operations have moved from the north to the east and west of Gaza City, and south in Khan Younis. 

On Wednesday, the Israeli army dropped thousands of leaflets calling on all Gaza City residents to flee what it called a "dangerous combat zone" - an area where the United Nations said up to 350,000 people were sheltering. 

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said "entire families are trapped and desperately seek security. The huge needs are beyond our capacity to respond". 

ICRC added that Gaza City residents had been instructed to move south "to areas that are overcrowded, lacking in essential services and are experiencing hostilities". 

Meanwhile, the Palestinian UN agency chief Philippe Lazzarini also joined calls in firmly standing against Israel’s offensive in Gaza- which has affected the entire Palestinian refugee population. 

The UNRWA Commissioner accused Israel of issuing evacuation orders that force Palestinians "to move like human pinballs across a landscape of destruction and death."

According to local health authorities, more than 38,300 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, have been killed since October, and nearly 88,300 have been wounded in the same time frame.