1 of 5 | Palestinians mourn the death of relatives who were killed in an Israeli bombing on a house in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday. U.N. humanitarian affairs chief Martin Griffiths described scenes of “utter horror” in testimony to the Security Council on Friday. Photo by Ismael Mohamad/UPI | License Photo
Civilians living in Gaza must be allowed to return to their homes in the Palestinian enclave, top officials with the United Nations said Friday during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council.
U.N. humanitarian affairs chief Martin Griffiths painted a picture of the current situation in Gaza, where displaced civilians are being forced into a shrinking “sliver of land” amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign there against the militant group Hamas. Advertisement
“Any persons displaced from Gaza must be allowed to return, as international law demands,” Martin Griffiths said during the meeting held at the U.N. headquarters in New York City.
Security Council members described the current situation in Gaza as a “catastrophe.” The death toll in the area of nearly 2 million people was approaching 23,000 late last week, according to Gaza officials.
“There is no safe place in Gaza,” Griffiths said Friday.
“Orders for evacuation are unrelenting. As ground operations move southwards, aerial bombardments have intensified in areas where civilians were told to relocate for their safety.”
Griffths described the situation in Gaza where he said U.N. aid convoys have faced hurdles or been entirely unable to deliver supplies to displaced citizens. Advertisement
“Colleagues who have managed to make it to the north in recent days describe scenes of utter horror: Corpses left lying in the road. People with evident signs of starvation stopping trucks in search of anything they can get to survive,” Griffiths told Security Council members.
Israel has said its mission is to destroy Hamas’ military framework in northern Gaza, following the group’s unprompted attacks on Israeli soil on Oct. 7 last year.
Israel responded by launching an aerial bombardment of the enclave followed by a ground incursion which is ongoing.
The campaign has been criticized globally as an attack on civilian infrastructure, a possible war crime and the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes.
“Compelled evacuations, failing to meet the necessary conditions for lawfulness, therefore potentially amount to forcible transfer, a war crime,” Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris said during Friday’s meeting.
