Euro-Med Monitor: Israeli control of “Netzarim” and Al-Rasheed aims at forced displacement of Gaza residents

GENEVA, Oct. 01 (YPA) – The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor warned on Wednesday of the serious dangers posed by the Israeli occupation army’s control over the “Netzarim Axis” and Al-Rasheed Street in the Gaza Strip, and its prevention of Palestinians from returning to Gaza City.

The Monitor considered the move a dangerous measure that entrenches a systematic policy of siege and starvation.

In a statement, the Monitor explained that the Israeli action aims to fragment the unity of the Strip’s territory by isolating Gaza City and its north and turning them into besieged areas. This, the statement added, imposes unbearable, coercive conditions on civilians, making their continued presence in the area impossible and effectively leading to forced displacement.

The statement further noted that the occupation authorities are pushing residents to leave Gaza City by depriving them of food, medicine, and fuel and cutting off humanitarian supplies.

It highlighted that the statements by Israeli War Minister Yisrael Katz, who called anyone remaining in the city a “combatant or terrorism supporter,” reveal an declared policy of collective punishment and forced displacement against unarmed civilians.

The Monitor stressed that preventing Palestinians from returning to Gaza threatens more than 300,000 people still trapped inside the city, effectively completely depriving them of food and medicine supplies. This puts them at risk of famine and total health collapse and increases their suffering through the separation of families.

The statement pointed out that closing the “Netzarim” and Al-Rasheed axes practically means strangling the remaining partially functioning hospitals in Gaza by preventing essential medical supplies and necessary staff from reaching them. This portends catastrophic consequences for the already deteriorating health situation in the Strip.

YPA