600 days into war, Israel’s mass displacement campaign is entirely erasing Gaza - warns Oxfam

The pattern of Israel’s orders followed by military strikes underscores what Israeli officials have openly stated: plans to take control of Gaza and establish militarized “humanitarian” hubs, where civilians would receive aid from private contractors under armed guard. Oxfam and other international agencies have firmly rejected these proposals as coercive, politicized, and incompatible with humanitarian principles. 

In just the last week (15–20 May), over 160,000 people were displaced—part of a broader total of nearly 600,000 people displaced since March 18, many of them repeatedly. 

One of the most significant recent orders, issued on 20 May, covered 34.9 km², roughly 10 percent of Gaza’s land area, that affected 150,000–200,000 people in North Gaza’s Beit Lahiya and Jabalia. The effect of such orders on already-displaced populations has been devastating.  

“In any other conflict, civilians would have routes to flee to neighbouring areas or countries. In this case, Palestinians are entirely caged under an iron-clad siege, being shoved towards the coastline.” 

Fidaa Alaraj – Oxfam’s Gender Advisor in Gaza- who has been displaced with her family several times, said: “Imagine trying to move with four children or an elderly parent in the middle of the night, with no transport and nowhere to go. People are so exhausted, many would rather face death than flee again.”  

The so-called “known shelters” designated by Israel—chief among them Al-Mawasi—are little more than dust-choked encampments that offer no real protection. Al-Mawasi, a barren coastal strip of roughly 40 square kilometre that housed just 7,000 people before the war, has now been designated as a relocation site for hundreds of thousands. Despite its label as a safe zone, it has been repeatedly struck by Israeli fire. 

Nearly all of the remaining areas where civilians are being forcibly relocated—comprising just 20 percent of Gaza’s territory—entirely lack clean water, sanitation, medical care, and basic infrastructure. This reality stands in direct violation of international humanitarian law, which obligates Israel as the occupying power to ensure displaced civilians receive adequate shelter, hygiene, and protection. 

“This annihilation campaign and the bloodshed must end. It is long past time for Western governments and other influential powers to move beyond statements and apply meaningful pressure on Israel to lift the siege and abandon any designs on annexing Gaza”, added Khalidi. 

“Peace cannot be brokered on the ruins of Gaza nor the theft of Palestinian land. Ahead of the Two-State Solution Summit planned in New York next month, world leaders must urge Israel to lift the siege and abandon any annexation plans of Gaza or the West Bank. What’s at stake is not only Palestine’s future, but the integrity of every nation that claims to uphold international law.”