Amnesty raises alarm over Israeli orders for Palestinians in south Gaza to leave homes

Amnesty International has raised concerns over Israeli orders that Palestinians in south Gaza leave their homes. 

“Fears continue to grow for the safety of civilians across southern Gaza after Israeli air force dropped leaflets in eastern neighbourhoods of Khan Younis (Al-Qarara, Khuza’a, Bani Suhaila &Abasan) ordering people to leave their homes & go to “known shelters,” they said on Friday. 

The statement comes after around 1.5 Palestinians in north Gaza were forced to leave their homes, following Israeli orders, with no guarantee of return. 
Women, children, the sick, wounded and disabled, were among the Palestinians forced to leave their homes on foot and walk kilometres to reach Salah al-Din road, a main highway. 

Amnesty said that this amounts to “forced displacement and violates international law.” 

“As the occupying power, Israel has the obligation to protect and ensure the welfare of Gaza’s civilian population,” they added.

The Amnesty statement comes after Israel ordered residents in south Gaza to leave their homes in a similar fashion to what happened in north Gaza.

“Amnesty is deeply concerned that the already-horrifying, man-made humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza will further deteriorate with the start of the rainy season with devastating consequences for 100s of thousands of IDPs,” they said.