The situation in northern Gaza has been described as “apocalyptic” by acting UN humanitarian chief Joyce Msuya as Israel’s military offensive against Hamas continues in the region.

Using satellite imagery and analyzing Israeli evacuation orders, Sky News examines the scale of destruction in northern Gaza since the latest offensive began and increased military activity in one area close to the Israeli border.

This comes as an independent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report on Palestinian displacement suggests that Israel is carrying out a policy of “ethnic cleansing” in Gaza and that its policies and practices are evidence of “crimes against humanity “.

This amounts to what HRW calls war crimes – a violation of the Geneva Conventions and a crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In response to our report and separate assertions made in HRW’s report, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that it is “committed to international law and operates accordingly.”

He said that there is “no IDF doctrine aimed at causing maximum damage to civilian infrastructure regardless of military necessity,” that it is “committed to mitigating harm to civilians” and that it works “various ways” to evacuate civilians near combat zones before attacks.

Destruction in the north

Israel launched its latest military offensive in the north last month, saying Hamas was regrouping in the region. Since then, tens of thousands of civilians have fled. While Israel denies independent media access to Gaza, the true scale of the military operation is difficult to quantify.

But indications of the scale of destruction caused by this offensive can be seen in satellite images taken over the past seven weeks.

Recent satellite images show that large areas west of the Jabalia refugee camp have been cleared and dozens of buildings seen damaged or destroyed.

Between October 14 and 24, two IDP camps in northern Gaza were also closed. More than 50 tents in a camp for displaced civilians less than 500 meters north of the Indonesian Hospital, one of three main hospitals in northern Gaza, have been removed.

It is not clear whether the camps were emptied by the military or by civilians who may have fled south during October’s mass evacuations. The image of the camp taken below on October 24 shows earthen fortifications, suggesting the military’s recent presence in the area.

The widespread destruction across Gaza has been criticized in an HRW report which suggests that much of it is caused by “deliberate razing” by Israel.

It claims: “The Israeli army has caused widespread destruction in Gaza, much of it caused recklessly following hostilities or through the deliberate destruction of land and buildings after the army took control of the area. .

“Given the large number of Palestinian civilians in Gaza driven from their lands and the manner in which they have been displaced, as well as attempts to make their return impossible, the forced displacement is widespread, systematic and intentional, and amounts to a crime against humanity.”

The Israeli military said each of its strikes was based on “precise and reliable indications of terrorist infrastructure or the presence of terrorists in the target, directed at the enemy.”

Military activity and new routes near the Israeli border

Recent satellite images also show increased military activity around a road built by the Israeli army earlier this year that connects western Israel to an area deep in Gaza, south of Beit Hanoun, a town in northern Gaza.

It is not clear from satellite images exactly what the road is for. HRW describes it as a “new access road” and, although construction began as early as last December, comparison of images taken on September 27 and November 12 show significant new developments and land clearing operations in areas fields less than 2 km to the south.

Israel denies having a policy to divide northern Gaza from the rest of the territory, but concerns have been raised that those displaced from northern Gaza will not be able to return.

On October 16, the UK Ambassador to the United Nations, Dame Barbara Woodward, told the UN Security Council: “Northern Gaza must not be cut off from the south. Palestinian civilians, including those evacuated from northern Gaza, must be allowed to return to their communities and rebuild.

“There must be no forced transfer of Gaza residents from or within Gaza, nor any reduction in the territory of the Gaza Strip.”

Sky News asked the IDF what the area was used for, but did not receive a direct answer. However, the IDF has previously used corridors to assert military control elsewhere in the Gaza Strip.

Israel built the Netzarim Corridor, which cuts the strip from east to west just below Gaza City, in March, citing security reasons. Its construction demonstrated Israel’s intention to expand its military presence in the Gaza Strip.

Israel also took control of the 14km-long Philadelphia Corridor which runs through the Gaza Strip in May. The army’s goal was to prevent Hamas from rearming, as Israel says the group uses the tunnels connecting Gaza and Egypt to smuggle weapons.

The HRW report says Israel’s use of buffer zones and safe zones in Gaza suggests that authorities are “pursuing a policy of ethnic cleansing,” adding that “organized and forced displacement of Palestinians” has removed many of the population of the areas that were their home in Gaza. .

The report says: “Nowhere is this clearer than in areas that have been razed, expanded and cleared to create buffer zones and safety corridors.”

“The intention of the Israeli forces seems likely to ensure that they remain permanently emptied and cleared of Palestinians and, in their place, occupied and controlled by Israeli forces. Taken together, these actions indicate that, at least in the buffer zones and security corridors in Gaza, the Israeli authorities are carrying out a policy of ethnic cleansing.”

The Israeli military said that reports and complaints regarding the violation of international law by the Israeli army are transferred to the investigation and evaluation mechanism of the General Staff, a body designed to review operational events exceptional events that occurred during the war.

It added: “The IDF is fully committed to respecting all applicable international legal obligations, including the law of armed conflict. »

Mass evacuations from the north

During the first weeks of the offensive, mass evacuations of the civilian population took place in the north.

Sky News’ analysis of Israeli evacuation orders posted online found that over the course of five days in mid-October, the army ordered the evacuation of 90% of the northern Gaza governorate – an area twice the size of Manchester.

We analyzed the social media accounts of the IDF’s Arab spokesperson and found that the IDF issued three evacuation maps between October 1 and 29, i.e. October 7, 8 and 12. The areas evacuated between October 7 and 12 cover 90% of the northern Gaza governorate.

Two of the maps, released on October 7 and 8, show the same area, covering the majority of the northern Gaza governorate. The third map, published on October 12, covers the Jabalia district. We compared these maps with UN maps of Gaza’s official administrative boundaries.

The military frequently posted evacuation maps online telling civilians which areas to leave and where to go. These cards are not the only form of evacuation notice issued by the IDF, which also uses other methods such as leaflets. But the Israeli military says they were created to minimize civilian casualties.

It is possible that the IDF issued more evacuation orders during the period we analyzed using maps and other methods that were not published online.

Of the three maps we found, only one detailed the period of time when civilians could safely travel the given route. The other two do not provide a duration of the evacuation order or an expiration date.

The HRW report criticized the Israeli evacuation system in Gaza throughout the war and said Israel had “failed to ensure the safety of displaced Palestinians in Gaza in any meaningful way”, adding that it had ” created an evacuation system that sowed terror, confusion, misery, and anxiety.”

In response, the IDF said it used various methods to evacuate civilians near combat zones before the attacks, including flyers, phone calls and media broadcasts, and that throughout the fighting in the north from Gaza, it authorized travel to the south via the Salah al Din road.

He adds that most of the population is “complying with evacuation orders, but some choose to remain in dangerous combat zones” and says he is calling and acting for the evacuation of civilians from combat zones to safer areas whenever possible.

Israeli forces continue to carry out operations in northern Gaza, but it is unclear how and when the operation will end and what it might look like for Palestinians in northern Gaza.