The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) strongly condemns the ongoing atrocities committed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. These crimes reveal a consistent and systematic pattern of forced displacement, mass killings, and the largescale destruction of entire cities and neighborhoods. They are part of the most extensive and protracted crime of genocide being committed against the Palestinian people, under the full view of the world for nearly 21 months, without any effective action to halt it.
In a serious escalation reflecting the IOF’s intent and efforts to depopulate most neighborhoods of the Gaza Strip and erase what remains of them, the IOF, over the past few days, have intensified their airstrikes and fire belts on Gaza City and issued new widescale displacement orders for residents of eastern Gaza City. This mirrors previous actions taken by IOF in other neighborhoods and areas, where hundreds of thousands of civilians were forcibly displaced from their homes under relentless bombardment and threats, forced to flee to western Gaza City and southern Gaza Strip.
Even though most of Gaza’s residents have obeyed the IOF’s evacuation orders, they continue to be targeted in areas they have sought refuge in. These attacks include direct strikes on tents and gatherings of civilians, who are enduring catastrophic humanitarian conditions in worn-out tents and shelters as well as collective starvation and direct targeting at aid distribution points established in areas under the IOF’s full control.
In this context, PCHR’s Director, lawyer Raji Sourani, emphasizes that the IOF’s escalation against civilians, their destruction of civilian infrastructure, the deliberate killing of Palestinians attempting to reach aid distribution points, and the widescale evacuations and forced displacement of residents is part of a systematic plan aimed at forcibly confining the population to only two areas within the Gaza Strip.
Sourani added that this plan is an tangible prelude to the forced displacement of Gaza Strip’s residents and the depopulation of the Strip under false pretexts as part of the IOF’s broader efforts aimed at demographic cleansing and engineering a new Nakba for the Palestinian people. This is committed in a clear perpetuation of the crime of genocide being committed against the Palestinian people in full view of the whole world.
In recent displacement orders, on the morning of Monday, 30 June 2025, the IOF issued new and widescale evacuation orders for residents of Gaza City, Jabalia, eastern al-Zaytoun neighborhood, the Old City, al-Turkman, al-Jadida, al-Tuffah, al-Daraj, al-Sabra, Jabalia al-Balad, Jabalia al-Nazla, refugee camp in Jabalia, al-Rawda, al-Nahda, al-Zohour, al-Nour, al-Salam, and Tal al-Za’tar areas.1These orders were followed by intense and deadly attacks.
At approximately 14:50 on the same day, Israeli warplanes launched a heinous airstrike on the al-Baqah café located off the Gaza City shore and widely known for being overcrowded. As a result, 34 people, including journalist Isma’il Hussain Abu Hatab, Al Jazeera Mubasher cameraman, 10 children, and 5 women, were killed, while 98 others were injured, including 40 in serious condition.
A displaced woman who lives in a tent near the incident scene said to PCHR’s researcher:
“I heard a massive explosion and dust filled the area. I rushed toward the scene only to be shocked by what I saw: bodies torn apart, scattered body parts, and corpses floating in the sea due to the force of the blast. There were wounded people screaming for help… The scene was horrifying and unbearable.”
This strike is part of a series of systematic attacks carried out by the IOF against civilians and areas where they gather. At dawn on the same day, Israeli warplanes bombed three schools used as shelters for thousands of displaced people: Al-Hurriya and Al-Falah schools in al-Zeitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City, and Zainab al-Wazir School in Jabalia al-Balad, northern Gaza Strip.
According to information gathered by PCHR’s researcher, the IOF contacted several displaced people sheltering in these schools and ordered them to evacuate immediately as a prelude to bombing and destroying these schools. This enticed fear and panic among families who fled the schools in tears, hastily dragging their few belongings. Women ran with their children, sobbing. The repeated cry “Where can we go?” captures the depth of the tragedy that residents of Gaza endure every moment.
Since 18 March 2025, the IOF have issued 50 unlawful forced evacuation orders, subjecting the majority of the Gaza Strip to displacement orders. Field data and estimates by international organizations indicate that approximately 82.6% of the Gaza Strip is currently classified under one of the following categories: closed Israeli military zones, areas under displacement orders, or both. This reflects an unprecedented level of restrictions on movement and humanitarian access.2 It means that around 2.3 million Palestinians, most of whom are forcibly displaced, are now crammed into a small, unsafe area that constitutes no more than 17.4% of the Strip’s total area. They live in the remains of destroyed houses, worn-out tents, or overcrowded schools turned into shelters, many of which have also been targeted.
This pattern reflects the IOF’s systematic policy to destroy and completely erase the remaining buildings and civilian objects in the Gaza Strip—similar to what was done in Rafah, which was entirely destroyed. The IOF continues its policy of widescale destruction in Khan Yunis, northern Gaza, and eastern Gaza City, where extensive bombardment, detonation, and bulldozing operations are being carried out without any military necessity, in areas that are not witnessing any hostilities. This clearly indicates that the aim is to destroy and eliminate any prospects for life, both now and in the future.
PCHR reaffirms that what is taking place in the Gaza Strip constitutes a fully-fledged crime of genocide being committed in full view of the world, without any tangible efforts or serious international stance to stop it or hold its perpetrators accountable. The continued forced displacement, mass killings of civilians, and the destruction of infrastructure, leaves no doubt that the IOF persist in their policies aimed at erasing the Palestinian existence in the Gaza Strip. These acts are being carried out with clear and declared intent, through intense and inhumane practices.
Therefore, PCHR once again calls on the international community to fulfill its legal and humanitarian responsibilities towards the population of the Gaza Strip, to take immediate action to halt the genocide, lift the siege, provide urgent international protection for Palestinian civilians, and work on holding Israeli war criminals accountable before international justice.
