A report published by the research group Forensic Architecture found the ‘humanitarian measures’ employed by the Israeli military have failed to protect the Palestinian civilian population and the ‘humanitarian efforts’ served to facilitate what numerous international experts have called Israel’s genocidal action.
The report, Humanitarian Violence: Israel’s Abuse of Preventative Measures in its 2023-2024 Genocidal Military Campaign in the Occupied Gaza Strip, examined the relationship between the Israeli military ‘evacuation orders’ since 7 October 2023 to the mass displacement and unprecedented killing of the Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.
FA also publishes an interactive report along with the document.
The report debunks Israel’s argument at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that it had introduced measures to safeguard civilian life in Gaza. The supposed measures have been part of Israel’s defence against charges of genocide levelled against it by South Africa at the ICJ for its conduct during its war on Gaza.
The study revealed that the ‘humanitarian measures’ employed by Israel, including ‘warnings’, ‘evacuation orders’, ‘safe zones’, and ‘safe corridors’ were not used as a means of protecting life and livelihood resulting in cases of targeting and military bombardment of routes and zones designated as ‘safe’ by the Israeli military; facilitated the movement and direction of displaced civilians to areas of active Israeli military presence and operations which, in numerous cases, led to significant civilian fatalities.
It said that on numerous occasions ‘evacuation orders’ by the Israeli military were posted online during communication blackouts or network disruptions. The Israeli military’s intentional disruption of communications in Gaza renders its online ‘evacuation orders’ released in those moments ineffective and inaccessible.
The study reveals numerous patterns of inconsistencies and ‘errors’ by the Israeli military in labelling, marking, and naming the evacuation areas. In some of these cases, more than one of these ‘errors’ occur simultaneously.
