A panel of United Nations experts on Monday condemned Israeli military strikes on Gaza displacement camps and a sharp increase in forced displacements across the occupied West Bank.
The experts, representing the UN Human Rights Council, detailed several incidents from March where Israeli airstrikes ignited tents in Gaza, resulting in multiple deaths.
“This cycle of displacement, terror, and targeted attacks serves an ultimate purpose: to make life unbearable for Palestinians and permanently force them from their land,” the panel said in a statement.
The group stated that the vast majority of Gaza’s population has faced multiple displacements, a process they characterized as "forcible transfer."
The panel further noted that targeting areas known to shelter displaced civilians constitutes a "grave breach of international humanitarian law."
Civilians living in makeshift shelters currently face severe health risks, including widespread hunger, freezing temperatures, and flooding. The experts highlighted that women and children are bearing a disproportionately high share of these deprivations.
Escalating displacement in West Bank
The panel also criticized a sharp increase in forced displacement throughout the occupied West Bank. They attributed this escalation to actions by the Israeli army and what they described as “State-backed settler terrorism.”
According to the UN Human Rights Office, more than 36,000 Palestinians have been forcibly displaced in 2025 due to expanding illegal settlement activity. The experts reported daily attacks that result in the killing, injury, and harassment of women and children, alongside the widespread destruction of Palestinian homes, farmland, and livelihoods.
“The scale and pattern of these actions shows once again the ongoing broader policy of ethnic cleansing across the occupied Palestinian territory,” the panel stated.
The 13-member panel includes special rapporteurs Francesca Albanese, Paula Gaviria Betancur, Michael Fakhri, and Reem Alsalem. They urged Israel to end all ongoing forced displacement in the West Bank and to facilitate the safe return of displaced Palestinians.
The experts called on international states to end the unlawful occupation and to avoid providing assistance to Israel while the occupation continues without accountability. They urged countries to remember their legal obligations and to call for investigations into the ongoing violence.
