Human Rights Watch on Thursday alleged that Israel has forcibly displaced 1.9 million Palestinian civilians in Gaza, destroyed most of the strip and is responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The 154-page report, titled Hopeless, Starving and Besieged, said that Israeli authorities’ actions in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks “do not comply with the laws of war” and have caused the displacement of 90% of the population, including deliberate, controlled demolitions by Israel Defense Forces of homes and civilian infrastructure, including in so-called “buffer zones” and “security corridors” from which residents would probably be excluded permanently. “The Israeli government cannot claim to be keeping Palestinians safe when it kills them along escape routes, bombs so-called safe zones, and cuts off food, water, and sanitation,” said HRW refugee and migrant rights researcher Nadia Hardman.

Israel has blatantly violated its obligation to ensure Palestinians can return home, razing virtually everything in large areas.”

An analysis of Israel’s operations based on interviews with displaced Palestinians, nearly 200 evacuation orders, satellite imagery showing widespread destruction, and verified video and photo evidence of attacks on designated safe zones and evacuation routes revealed that civilians were not given enough time to leave, if at all, and that orders were inconsistent and provided incorrect information. The directives also failed to address the requirements of those with impairments and others who could not leave without assistance. HRW stated that, while displacing civilians in a safe manner to properly resourced facilities was permitted under international law in exceptional circumstances — military reasons or population security — Israel had “no plausible imperative military reason” to justify its mass displacement of nearly the entire Gaza population, often multiple times.

It said that Israel’s evacuation strategy had caused “severe harm” to the population and frequently served solely to spread fear and worry, and that, rather than providing security for evacuated residents, Israeli forces had repeatedly targeted evacuation routes and safe zones that it had designated. According to HRW, the evidence demonstrated that Israel’s assertion that it was involved in an authorized procedure of evacuating civilians to give access to Hamas fighters and other militants while limiting injury to noncombatants was incorrect.

Israel had reneged in its duty as the occupying power to ensure adequate facilities to accommodate displaced civilians and instead had blocked virtually all necessary humanitarian aid, water, electricity, and fuel from reaching civilians in need in Gaza. “Israeli attacks have damaged and destroyed resources that people need to stay alive, including hospitals, schools, water and energy infrastructure, bakeries, and agricultural land,” HRW said. Forced displacement has been so widespread, HRW said, that it believed it was systematic and part of a state policy. “Such acts also constitute crimes against humanity,” said HRW adding that because Israel’s “organized, violent displacements” were of people of another ethnic group, and likely permanent in buffer zones and security corridors, they amounted to ethnic cleansing.

The report makes 18 recommendations directed at Israel calling for an immediate halt to forced displacement and “collective punishment” of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and when evacuation is necessary for a system that provides accurate and timely information with instructions on how to safely reach safe zones, and that ensures they are safe, have adequate shelter, and meets other humanitarian needs. It urged Israel to publicly commit to allowing displaced people to return to their homes and places of origin as soon as hostilities cease or the reason for the displacement ends.

It called on Western governments to publicly condemn forced displacements by Israel as a war crime and crime against humanity, as well as other violations of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and international criminal law by Israeli authorities and apply pressure on them to cease. HRW urged governments to suspend military assistance and arms sales to Israel until its forces cease their violations of international humanitarian law and enforce domestic legislation limiting weapons transfers and military aid to states in breach of international human rights and humanitarian law