ANKARA

Israel has forcibly displaced 270,000 Palestinians from Gaza City toward the south under threat of bombardment and genocide, the Gaza Government Media Office said Saturday.

In a statement, the office said more than 900,000 Palestinians remain in Gaza City and northern areas, refusing to leave despite the ongoing destruction and “crimes of permanent forced displacement.”

“While thousands have fled south due to heavy Israeli airstrikes, at least 22,000 have since returned to Gaza City after moving belongings to the south,” it said, citing the absence of basic necessities there.

The office highlighted that the Al-Mawasi area in Khan Younis and Rafah, promoted by Israel as a “safe humanitarian zone,” has instead been bombed more than 110 times, leaving over 2,000 people dead.

It said the area lacks hospitals, infrastructure, clean water, food, housing, electricity, and education, making life “almost impossible.”

According to the office, Israel has allocated just 12% of Gaza’s total area as “shelter zones” while attempting to force over 1.7 million people into them, comparing these to “concentration camps” aimed at depopulating Gaza City and the north.

The office condemned Israel’s actions as “a full-fledged war crime and crime against humanity,” blaming “Israel, its ally the US, and other states supporting the war” for the consequences.

It called on the international community, the UN, and international courts to take “serious and effective measures” to halt the crimes, hold Israeli leaders accountable, and guarantee Palestinians’ right to remain in their land with safety and dignity.

Israel has been waging a devastating genocidal war on the Gaza Strip since October 2023, killing more than 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.