Establishing Israeli military sites near Yellow Line entrenches de facto annexation, threatens civilians in Gaza by Euromed Human Rights Monitor

The Euro-Med Monitor field team confirmed the establishment of at least 20 military sites of varying size in eastern Gaza, reflecting an accelerated effort to impose facts on the ground and consolidate long-term control over large parts of the Gaza Strip in preparation for annexation. This directly contradicts the requirements of the second phase of the ceasefire agreement, which was meant to lead to an Israeli withdrawal rather than an expanded deployment and a more fortified military presence.

These newly established Israeli military sites were built on the ruins of Palestinian homes, farmland, and other property, after comprehensive and systematic campaigns of destruction, bulldozing, and land levelling by the Israeli army. The operations affected entire towns and neighbourhoods and radically altered their geography, aiming to erase their Palestinian character and convert them into barracks and military zones that entrench Israel’s unlawful presence and control over the land.

… These acts also involve conduct explicitly prohibited under international humanitarian law, including the forcible transfer or deportation of protected persons from occupied territory. Such acts constitute war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against the civilian population and may also fall under the Genocide Convention when accompanied by specific intent to destroy.