GAZA, (PIC)
The Gaza Center for Human Rights (GCHR) expressed its deep concern and condemnation regarding the recent field developments in the Gaza Strip, which reflect a dangerous escalation in the policies of the Israeli occupation forces aimed at imposing facts by force and reducing the geographic space available to the civilian population, in parallel with the continued daily bombing and the fall of new martyrs almost every day.
The center said in a statement on Saturday that its field team documented the occupation forces expanding the yellow zone again east of Khan Yunis, by moving the yellow markers opposite Dar al-Salam Hospital to become alongside Salah al-Din Road, which prompted displaced citizens to leave the area for fear of being targeted.
It pointed out that this development comes a few weeks after the creation of what is called the orange line, which carves out about 11 percent of the area of the Strip, thus increasing the percentage of restricted or prohibited areas for Palestinians to about 65 percent of the total area.
The GCHR warned that the creation of this line outside the scope of what was known as the yellow line represents a dangerous escalation in the policy of reducing the space available to the population, as it pushes about 2.1 million displaced people into forced overcrowding in an area not exceeding 35 percent of the Gaza Strip, in light of the collapse of basic services and the deterioration of health and environmental conditions, which undermines the conditions of human life and increases the risks of the spread of diseases and epidemics.
The center pointed to the dangerous development represented by the bombing and destruction of a group of houses in al-Shati camp west of Gaza City, which demonstrates the continued occupation policy of erasing what remains of buildings and cities after destroying 90 percent of the buildings in the Strip during 31 months of aggression.
It mentioned that its team documented yesterday evening, Friday, May 8, 2026, the receipt by a number of citizens of phone calls from the Israeli army demanding they evacuate their homes and tents in the vicinity of a house belonging to the Al-Adham family in al-Shati camp west of Gaza City, which pushed families to displace and evacuate under the weight of fear and panic, without being able to take their personal belongings.
It explained that Israeli warplanes bombed the three-story house at night with two missiles, leading to its destruction along with the almost total destruction of about 30 neighboring houses, in addition to the outbreak of a fire that extended to neighboring places inside the crowded alleys of the camp. The bombing also resulted in the injury of nine citizens with varying wounds, one of which was described as serious.
The center stressed that the call to evacuate method does not bestow any legitimacy on the bombing operation, and does not exempt the occupying power from its responsibilities under the rules of international humanitarian law, especially the principles of distinction, proportionality, and necessity and the prohibition of inflicting wide-scale damage on civilian objects, confirming that what happened is an extension of the process of erasure and comprehensive destruction carried out by the occupation forces with the aim of making life impossible for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The center mentioned that these developments come at a time when Ministry of Health data in Gaza indicates the arrival of five martyrs and 15 injuries to the hospitals of the Strip during the past forty-eight hours, including four new ones and one recovered case, with other victims remaining under the rubble in light of the inability of ambulance and civil defense crews to reach them. Since the ceasefire on October 10, the total number of martyrs has reached 850 people, and injuries 2,433, in addition to 770 recovered cases. As for the cumulative statistics since October 7, 2023, they indicate 72,736 martyrs and 172,535 injuries.
The GCHR stressed that these Israeli policies, including wide-impact bombing, the expansion of prohibited areas, and the establishment of military arrangements and sites inside the Gaza Strip, constitute in their entirety an attempt to impose a new geographic and security reality by force, involving serious risks related to forced displacement and demographic change prohibited under international law.
The center demanded the international community, especially the high contracting parties to the Geneva Conventions, to take urgent action to stop these violations, ensure the protection of the civilian population, and pressure to end the policy of reducing geographic space and lift the restrictions imposed on movement and access, as a prelude to enabling the population to live in dignity and safety on all their land without a permanent threat of bombing or forced displacement.