Al Mezan is deeply alarmed by the false claims made by the Israeli military’s Arabic spokesperson, Avichay Adree, that there are “empty areas” in southern Gaza to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who will once again be forcibly displaced, should Israel proceed with its plan to take over Gaza City. Al Mezan stresses that these assertions are intentionally misleading, serving only to deceive public opinion and to justify Israel’s policy of mass forced displacement as part of its ongoing genocide.
The Israeli spokesperson said that claims there is no space in southern Gaza to accommodate new waves of displaced Palestinians are “baseless rumors.” They declared there are large empty areas available, especially in Deir al-Balah and Al-Mawasi. The spokesperson also stated that the evacuation of northern Gaza, including Gaza City and the North Gaza Governorate, is “inevitable”. Israel's plan to push residents of Gaza and the north into the south will create conditions akin to mass internment camps. This collective humiliation and systematic deprivation of Palestinians in Gaza amounts to the crime of forced displacement, a violation under international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Al Mezan, present on the ground and witnessing the reality firsthand, rejects these false claims and stresses that these areas cannot absorb more people. Hundreds of families forcibly displaced from all across Gaza are now sleeping on streets and in public squares in Deir al-Balah and Al-Mawasi in Khan Younis, living in inhumane conditions and without even the bare minimum of shelter, water, or food.
H.M., a resident of Gaza City, told Al Mezan:
I returned with my family of six from Khan Younis – where we had been displaced in a makeshift tent – to Gaza City during the temporary ceasefire earlier this year. Since our home has been destroyed, we rented a house in the city. Following repeated displacement orders by the [Israeli] army to move south, we left again on 24 August 2025 for Al-Mawasi in Khan Younis. I spent two full days searching for a place to set up my own tent, but found nothing. The tents are packed tightly side by side, leaving no space to walk, and even the main streets are blocked. I then tried to search in the Khan Younis refugee camp, but it was extremely dangerous, as the [Israeli] army was targeting anything that moved in that area. I eventually returned to Gaza City and decided to remain in my rented house. I asked relatives to help find a place for me, even if I had to pay, but they could not find anything. I simply don’t know what to do.
The reality of the past 22 months also fully discredits Israel’s claim that it will provide humanitarian assistance to displaced Palestinians. The Israeli army continuously attacks displaced persons in tents and shelters that Israel itself labeled as “safe zones.” Israeli authorities systematically block humanitarian aid, including food, water, medicine, and fuel, while persistently using starvation as a weapon of war and a tool of genocide. Israel has also militarized aid distribution through the so-called ‘Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’, turning aid distribution into a tool of death. On 22 August 2025, the United Nations officially declared famine in Gaza, evidence of Israel’s policy of starvation and deprivation of humanitarian aid. This policy is deliberately designed to bring about the physical destruction of Palestinians in Gaza.
Issam Younis, General Director of Al Mezan, remarked:
Israeli forces continue to commit crimes by issuing new displacement orders to residents of Gaza City and North Gaza. They aim to reproduce in Gaza City what has already been carried out in Rafah, Beit Hanoun, and Beit Lahiya: the depopulation and expulsion of residents, the destruction of the city, and its eventual resettlement – an outcome repeatedly voiced by Israeli ministers. Such actions further demonstrate Israel’s intent to alter Gaza’s demography and underscore the settler-colonial nature of its policies toward Palestinians.
